


Just Like Heaven

by maddiemoiselleeee



Series: Just Like Heaven [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alfred is #Triggered, Angst, Attempted Murder, Deadline, Deception, Fate & Destiny, Human AU, Human Names, It has the same title, M/M, Memory Issues, Memory Loss, Mentions of Suicide, No for real, Panic Attack, Recovery, Suspense, USUK - Freeform, What's this? Plot?, completed work, go watch it, inspired by the movie, life support, race against the clock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2018-11-01 22:09:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10931016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddiemoiselleeee/pseuds/maddiemoiselleeee
Summary: Alfred F. Jones has a bit of a problem.Last month, he moved into the apartment of his dreams after looking at dozens of others. It's perfect in every way, shape, and form.Well, almost perfect.Without warning, a mysterious man named Arthur Kirkland appears, claiming that he too has been residing in his apartment at the same time. Little did they know he's actually been separated from his body and only has a few days left to live.Now it's up to Alfred to save Arthur, but is it even possible?





	1. I

_‘Come on! You need to get out more. You can't waste your entire life away drowning yourself in work. One of my close friends has a single friend who is just your type! Oh, don't give me that look. You have to have fun at least once in a blue moon, right? You're hot and single, you shouldn't stay on the market forever!’_

_No one would know it, but those strong words of encouragement had the power to kill._

_There was dead silence in the black of the night as a car drove quickly down a back road. There was nothing to illuminate a drive back home except for the headlights shining from the car. It was peaceful, but still, as if the air was dripping in apprehension. The scattering birds that could barely be made out against the dim sky should have been a foreshadowing of what was to come._

_Headlights blinding from the opposite direction._

_The screech of brakes._

_The sound of metal colliding with metal._

_The sound of metal scraping off of asphalt and onto the fresh earth._

_The sound of a car alarm going off._

_The feeling of body and mind separating._

_▪▪▪_

“What the bloody hell are you doing in here?!”

The sharp cry from behind me made my heart stop and my skin crawl. I spun around after sputtering my coffee back into the cup to see someone standing in my apartment, looking quite cross.

He was wearing a white button up and nice black slacks and was holding a matching jacket in his arms. His forest green tie was loosened around his neck. His light blonde hair was in stark contrast to his deep green eyes. His comically huge eyebrows were furrowed into a scowl. He was rather attractive, I had to admit, but even looks would not distract from the fact that he was, oh, I don't know, _standing in my apartment._

“Dude, what are you talking about? How did you get in here?” I asked, taking a step back. I don’t know how this creep got in here, and it was making me flip out internally. Do I call the cops?

“Look, I'm sure you're a…” he eyed me up from top to bottom a couple of times, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “...Nice man, but you need to leave before I call the authorities.”

Okay, _that_ offended me. “Call them and tell them what? That _you_ broke into _my_ home and started attacking _me_?!” I demanded, slamming my coffee on the counter I had backed up into, which was a bad idea. It spilled onto my fingers, making me cry out in pain and cradle the digits. “I've been living here for a month now. If you actually lived here, wouldn't we have crossed paths at one point? You're fucking crazy, dude!”

The man froze, blinking rapidly. He looked just as bewildered as I felt. “What the bloody hell are you going on about? I was just here this morning. I would have seen you, and I assure you, _my_ apartment was empty aside from _me_!” he argued.

I was getting really annoyed now. “And I was sound asleep in _my_ room back there until like, noon! If you really lived here, you would have seen me asleep in that bed a thousand times!” I insisted. “And, I'm almost always here, I mostly work from home. You've never been in here!”

The blonde’s blood was boiling now. “You damn git, I'll prove it to you!” he demanded, stomping towards the hallway that lead to the bedroom. I rolled my eyes and followed him, very fed up with his actions. A stranger stomping through my house proclaiming it was his was not exactly how I saw my Monday evening going.

When I turned down the corridor, I was surprised to see that all of the doors were closed, though I hadn't heard him open any or slam them shut. I swung my bedroom door open with more force than necessary, feeling it bounce off the wall. I wanted to shout at the stranger to either get out or be dragged out by the police, but when I looked around the room, it was vacant aside from me. I blinked.

“Dude? Where the hell are you?” I demanded, storming through the room. Under the bed, the closet, the window, for God’s sake, even the dirty pile of clothes I had accumulating in the corner was searched, but the man was nowhere to be seen. I checked the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom, and even went upstairs to the roof to look for him, but he was gone, as if he never existed. “I didn't just… imagine all that, did I?” I questioned out loud, confused. Oh God, Mattie was right; I'm pretty sure I'm stressing myself so much at work that I'm clinically insane.

Was I even going to be able to tell anyone about this? Mattie would probably just roll his eyes and tell me to stop making things up. He’s had trust issues about this kind of stuff since we were little and I convinced him that if you listened close enough when it’s quiet, you could hear the ghosts whispering. He still hasn’t been able to sleep in a quiet room to this day.

My co-workers would laugh and make fun of me for the rest of my life. They were the kind of toxic people who thrived on negativity, and they weren't happy unless they were causing trouble. When they found dirt on you, they did not let it go.

Maybe if I talked to that Norwegian guy who owned the bookstore he could help me. People always said he had a knack for seeing what wasn't there, although some said that might just be the drugs.

Going back to the kitchen after washing my face with cold water, I grabbed my abandoned cup of coffee and sighed, beginning to take a sip. I cringed a little as lukewarm water washed down my throat. I was much more a fan of either very warm drinks or very cold ones, but at this point, I couldn't say no to caffeine at this point. I had been slightly overworked, not that my boss or coworkers cared, and it only continued to accumulate when I took my leave of absence. Upon my return, I was met with the unsightly view of mountains of paperwork and binders at my desk. Just remembering made me shudder again, and another swig of coffee was thrown back.

“Well?”

When I heard his voice again, snapping me out of my thoughts, I spit my coffee out as if it were a spit take and dropped my mug, too freaked out to care that my favorite cup just shattered into pieces on the floor, probably denting the hardwood. Not to mention there was now coffee everywhere that I would also have to clean up.

I spun around and gripped the counter for support. My heart was racing a mile a minute. No, a mile a second.

“ _Fucking Christ,_ dude! Why the hell are you still here?! Aren't you just a figment of my imagination? Oh God, I must have a tumor. Well, that's it, that's the end of Alfred F. Jones.” I began rambling, completely at my wit’s end.

The large eyebrows shot up in shock. “Just _what_ are you babbling on about?” He asked, clearly exasperated. He reached a hand out to grasp my shoulder as if to calm me down, or perhaps shake some sense into me. However, his hand went straight through my body, as if he were a ghost.

Now, I will admit, what happened next is not one of my proudest moments. In fact, I would go as far as to say it would be my most shameful moment. Had anyone else been there, I probably would have just jumped out the window after this occurred.

I screamed like a little girl when his hand went through me. My biggest fear of all was ghosts, though it was irrational as they didn't exist. Also, might I add, it was not just loud yelling. It was a full frontal, high pitch, glass shattering kind of scream. Five year old girls would be put to shame.

Also, as if to add fuel to this shameful fire, I blacked out right after that. When I regained consciousness, I was laying on my side, facing my door. Thank God I didn't fall into the shattered remains of the coffee cup, even though my leg was a little wet at the ankle where the coffee was pooling. I also noticed that the ghost man was still there, squatting down next to me and staring at me. When I opened my eyes, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Good, you woke up. I was worried you may have hit your head or something.” The blonde said in a much more pleasant tone than before.

I sat up with a groan and ran a hand through my hair, sighing. “No, I must of, because now I'm being haunted by a ghost. Who do I call? An exorcist? A psychiatrist?” I questioned, mainly to myself. That seemed to piss the spirit guy off.

“Oh, shut it! I'm not a spirit because I'm not dead!” he argued.

The deadpan look on my face told him I wasn't buying any of his crap, and he sighed. “Look. While you were sleeping like a princess, I looked around my apartment, and I may have discovered something. I just need help filling in some of the blanks.” Nothing he said made me feel reassured, but for the sake of politeness to my new ghost friend, I let him continue. “Your lease is month-by-month rather than long term, yes? Why is that?”

I contemplated even explaining this all to a ghost, but then flexed my shoulders. “The former tenant got in some kind of accident. That's all they were willing to disclose, really.” I explained. I was mentally exhausted between work and this to be completely honest.

“Do you happen to know his name?” He asked me.

I narrowed my eyes. “You know, you're being very demanding for someone who hasn't even told me their name. I told you mine.”

He sighed, irritated. “It's Arthur. Now, did anyone happen to mention a name?” He demanded. His green eyes shone with a mix of emotions; mainly anger, but I could see something that looked a little upset, and maybe even some loneliness.

I thought for a moment, then sighed. Man, I was doing a lot of sighing today. “No, they didn't. They were trying super hard to keep everything on the down-low. I don't even know who sold me the lease,” I explained. “My realtor did all this for me. If anyone would know, she would.”

He nodded slowly, then looked like he was in deep concentration. This was bizarre on so many levels that I'm not even sure Mattie would believe me. And, if this guy Arthur was telling me the truth and this really was his apartment, emphasis on was, then we were in for a long ride.

When he didn't speak up for a while, I got kind of nervous. “Artie? You okay?” I asked cautiously.

He snapped out of his daze and glared at me. “Don't call me that, you twat!” he yelled, making me flinch.

“Dude, chill. It's a nickname.” I said in my defense. He looked even more pissed off for a few seconds, then rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

“I was just… putting some pieces together, is all.” He said. He glanced up at me, and I nodded, urging him to continue. “I’m not dead, however, I think I'm the former tenant who got in the accident.”

When he said that, it both made perfect sense and no sense at all. If we was the former tenant, that would explain why he was so sure that this was his apartment, and how he got in here at all. It would also explain why he wasn't tangible. But the thought that this was a reality horrified me for some reason.

“So, does that mean you're like… dead?” I asked, swallowing. “Because like, no offense, but like, I don't want you to haunt me for the rest of my life. That reminds me, why can I even see you in the first place?” I questioned.

Arthur thought about it seriously. I mean, I had pretty much lived my entire life never seeing a real ghost, thank Jesus, so it would be pretty weird if I just happened to start seeing one now. Or, maybe I had been able to see them my entire life and I just didn't know they were dead. The thought made me shudder.

“I,” Arthur started with a deep breath, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Like I said, I don't think I'm dead.”

“Oh yeah, because clearly living people have ghosts. Have you even _seen_ a movie in your life?” I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, shut it git!” he snapped. “Just think about it; if I was dead, why would they do a month-by-month lease rather than a long term? If the former tenant died, why would they hold off on selling the place?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again when I couldn't find words. He was right about that. There would be no reason to hold out on the lease. “Maybe they just can't let go?” I supplied as a reasonable answer. “When my uncle died, they didn't sell his house for like, a year.” Then, after a minute of pondering, I added, “To be fair, it was paid in full, and my dad was the one in charge of selling it. He didn't get around to it for the longest time.”

“That's the difference,” Arthur said. “They weren't making payments on his house. They would have had to continue the payments on an apartment for what, a couple bloody pieces of furniture? Heaven knows I don't own anything of real value. They wouldn't be holding out unless they thought that there was even a chance that I would live in it again.”

“Then that still doesn't answer my previous question.” I told him. “If you're alive, _why_ can I see you? And where have you been hiding the month that I've been living here?”

He hesitated. Then, after a moment, he whispered, “I don't know.”

I stood up from the floor, tired of having a conversation like this with coffee soaked ankles. I was going to have to clean this up, and I would have procrastinated on it if Arthur didn't give me the mom look. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a fist full of paper towels and threw it on the wet shards, then rummaged through the cabinet to find the dustpan and broom.

“So, your name is Arthur, and you used to live here, but now you're like, almost dead, so your soul came back to break my favorite coffee mug and haunt the shit out of me. Am I getting this right so far?” I asked, finding the items and walking back to the now brown paper towels. Arthur, who had stood up and was now crossing his arms in the middle of the living room, nodded. “I have another question, it might sound dumb but, where do we go from here?”

He widened his eyes slightly in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Like…” I made a wild gesture, not sure how to put what I was thinking into words. “Are we just going to accept this coexistence where only one of us actually exists? Are we gonna try and find your body and see if shoving you back in works? Am I going to call my psychiatrist and find out if I'm really just cuckoo for cocoa puffs?”

I swear, Arthur could not have rolled his eyes harder if he tried. “I think we established you aren't bonkers, at least not on this situation.”

“Well-”

“I think that our best course of action is, perhaps, a mix of the first two ideas you had.” He said, his gaze fixing on some point out the window. “We need to try and figure out who I am, first.”

“You don't even know who you are?” I asked, astonished.

He rubbed the back of his neck and his face heated up in some shame. “I know that my name is Arthur, and that I live here. No last name, however, and no idea what my career is either.”

I let out a strained laugh and stared at the light fixture suspended from the ceiling. “Of course you don't know who you are. You can remember this is your apartment, but that's about it, eh Artie? If that's really your name.”

“ _Arthur_. And, unfortunately, that seems to be the case. Perhaps the accident induced this. I don't necessarily feel like I forgot, I just…” he trailed off.

“You just can't remember? Like, it's at the tip of your tongue, and if you get a little push, you'd remember?” I suggested.

He nodded. “Yes, exactly. I just need to jog my memory.” he said. This looked really hard on him. It must have been quite shocking to realize that somewhere your body could be rotting away while you stood around and had no idea. If I hadn't rented the apartment, would he just be sitting in it thinking everything was normal? I'm not sure why, but I felt a strong urge to help Arthur. Whether it was my strong hero-like instinct or perhaps some basic humanity maybe even something else, I would never know. At least, not by standing here staring at him.

“Alright, if you let me change my pants, we can go.” I said, dumping moist shards into the trash bin. Then, pausing to think again, I added, “And maybe a shower, too.”

Arthur smirked, shifting his weight onto his left leg and crossed his arms. “What, soil yourself earlier when you screamed?” He teased.

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. “No! I spilled some of the coffee on them!” At least, I hoped to God I didn't wet myself. I looked down quickly to check, and confirmed that I indeed did not pee myself. That could have been mortifying. “And we aren't bringing that up anymore!”

Arthur let out a warm laugh. It was the first time he didn't look miserable to be here. “Alright, alright. But I have to admit, the look you gave was priceless-”

“ _Arthur!_ ”


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Alfred ask a lot of questions.

“Who?”

“Wait, someone lived in there?”

“Oh, do you mean Mr. Benson, apartment 5-C? He died last month at the age of 87. He was a really nice man.”

“I thought a woman lived in there.”

After half an hour of walking door-to-door trying to find out about Arthur, we came up more clueless than when we started. 

“Well, what's your next ‘great idea’?” Arthur asked highly sarcastically, almost as frustrated as I was while were walking to the last door on this floor. 

I turned and shot him a glare, then thought for a minute. I couldn't think of an idea that was actually going to work, or one that made sense. “No idea,” I said, maybe snappishly. “There's this guy who might be able to help.”

Arthur raised a large eyebrow as we stood in front of the door. “Who?” he asked as I rapped on the door with my knuckles.

“If we need him, I'll explain.” I whispered as the door swung open. There was a girl with long brown hair tied into a ponytail and a flower clip holding back her bangs. She was wearing what looked like exercise clothes, which I thought was kinda weird for how late it was, but who was I to judge? Especially when the sports bra she was wearing emphasized her rather large bust. I tried my best not to stare.

“Hi, can I help you?” She asked, blinking her large green eyes. 

“She seems nice, maybe she knows something.” Arthur said. “Now, stop staring at her chest and answer her.”

I cleared my throat and stuck out my hand. She gripped it gently. “My name is Alfred F. Jones, I live in apartment 5-D.” I said.

She gave me a warm smile. “5-D? That's the one just down the hall, right?” she asked. I nodded. “My name is Elizabeta. Did you need something?”

“Actually, Elizabeta,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck and glancing back at Arthur. He gave me a reassuring nod. “I was wondering if you knew anything about the apartment I'm in, specifically about who used to live there.” I explained to her.

“Oh, you mean Arthur Kirkland?”

Arthur shot his head up, and I glanced back at him again. “Yes, Kirkland. That's my last name. Arthur Kirkland. Ask her how she knows me.” He urged me. I turned back to her.

“Ah, yes, him. Do you happen to know anything about him?” I asked.

She thought for a moment. “Well, he was kind of young, barely older than 20 I think. Oh, and he was highly successful, had a lot of money. He always had on super expensive suits, and when he was moving in, there was so much stuff I felt like I should have been paying him to see it. I only ever talked to him a couple times, but when I did, he was quite the charmer.” She described, pausing in certain moments to think of the best words to use.

I nodded. “Do you happen to know what his job was?” I asked her. She nodded back at me.

“I think he was a doctor. That or he worked for a doctor or something. Or maybe he was a scientist with a doctorate. Where, I wouldn't know. I just know I called him Mr. Kirkland once and he scolded me and told me it was Dr. Kirkland. Oh! That remind me,” she began, peaking me and Arthur’s interest. “He was highly anti-social, or rather, liked to keep to himself. He didn't like people knowing much about him. And kind of rude when he let his guard down. I could always hear him shouting, even from here. He only ever spoke to me when he introduced himself upon moving in and on passing. I don't know why he left but I'm glad he did.”

I held back the urge to laugh my ass off right then and there. Arthur’s blood was boiling, and he let out a deep exhale from his nose. “That's rather rude to say about someone you barely know!” he huffed. 

“Thank you, Elizabeta. That really helped.” I said, shaking her hand again.

She smiled again. “Anytime. If you ever need anything, let me know!” And with that, she clicked the door shut. When it did shut, I began laughing quietly, trying not to attract too much attention.

“Wow, an antisocial jackass. Why does that seem to describe you perfectly?” I wheezed as we began walking back to my apartment.

“Shut it, git!” he snapped. If he could hit me, he would. “She had no idea what she was talking about!”

“Yeah, right. Well, after like, forty minutes walking around doing jack shit, we figured out your name and your maybe-profession. What now? Should we Google you?” I asked.

He rolled his eyes. “Google is not the answer to everything.”

“Well, I'm out of ideas, and starving. Want anything?” I asked, opening the fridge. It didn't occur to me that what I just said was super stupid until I closed the fridge and saw his deadpan look. “Oh shit, right, sorry. My bad.” I apologized, looking at the container of food I grabbed to avoid eye contact. 

“It's fine.” He said, and then there was an awkward silence. I was heating up some chicken I had the night before, and he sat down on the couch. I went to the drawer to grab a knife and fork, but when I opened it, a slip of paper fluttered out and onto the floor. Curious. I knelt down and picked it up. When I scanned over it, my eyebrows furrowed together. “Where is this?” I asked myself out loud. 

Arthur turned around to look at me. “Where is what?” He asked me. 

I shrugged. “There's an address scribbled on this paper. It's not mine, and I can barely read it. It's probably nothing.” I said, ready to toss it.

“Well, bring it over here. Let me see.” He said, outstretching his arm. I walked around the kitchen counter and over to him, placing it in his hand. He held it and began to read over it. “455 Elm Road? Or no, 456 Elm Road. Is that a five or six?” He questioned, pointing to it. 

I looked at him, bewildered. “Hell if I know. You can actually read that?” I questioned in disbelief.

He nodded. “This must be my handwriting.” He said, bringing the paper close to his face. “I can't for the life of me tell if that's a five or a six. I'm going to say five.”

“Dude, they're right; doctors really do have shitty handwriting.” I said. Oh God, if he could have hit me, he would have hit me a bunch by now. “Do you wanna go?” I asked him. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at me with his deep green eyes.

“I suppose we should. There's a name here, but part of it is ripped off. All I can make out is ‘Fran’.” he said. 

“Well, that's a start. Let's go, dude!” I said, running to the door to throw on my jacket.

“Alfred!” Arthur called, grabbing my attention. I turned back to him.

“What?”

“Do you have any idea what time it is, git?” He said. I glanced out the window, then at my watch. The sun had almost completely set, and according to my watch, it was long past eight o’clock, almost nine. “It's far too late in the day to be knocking on any more doors.”

He was right. I sighed and threw my coat back on the coat rack. “You're right, sorry. Just got kinda caught up in things.” I grabbed my chicken and sat down on the couch on the opposite end. “So, what now?” I asked, absent-mindedly stabbing my chicken with the fork.

“How about we just sit and talk for a little while? There's nothing better to do, anyway.” He proposed. I nodded.

From there, I began describing my recent life to him, mainly because he didn't have much to talk about. I described my job as a business man for a major electronics company, how in less than a year I had been bumped up the ranks to practically being the CEO's right hand man. 

I also described my family, starting with my twin brother and his boyfriend, then my older sisters, and my parents. Also, after a bit of hesitation, I began describing my former fiancé. I hated to talk about her ever since the incident that took her life about five months ago. She was very sick, and was hospitalized on and off for a while. Once diagnosed with cancer, she slowly began getting worse, until her body finally gave up. I never enjoyed thinking about it, especially because after it happened, I became a serious alcoholic at the ripe age of 19, almost quit my job, and even considered killing myself at one point.

Arthur didn't interrupt me once, just nodded and let me spill my life to him. I hadn't really had anyone besides my brother to confide in after it happened, and it felt really good to get it all off of my chest. 

I tried to change it to a happy tone afterwards, describing all the new changes in the past two months, but I couldn't help but feel like there was a dark undertone hanging in the air.

I finished, and Arthur stared at me, processing all that I had told him. Then, he shifted his hips. “It sounds like you've had a rather… adventurous life.” He said, trying to describe it as gently as he could. 

I nodded, then yawned, glancing down at my wrist. It was already past eleven. I guess I had a lot to talk about. 

Arthur gave me a concerned look. “If you're tired, go to bed.” he suggested.

I stood up and stretched, stifling another yawn. “I think I'm gonna. It's been a long,  _ long _ day.” I said, grabbing my now empty plate. Then I glanced at him. “You uh… gonna stay in here?” I asked hesitantly.

He nodded, not saying anything else beyond that. I waved him goodnight, then walked back to the confines of my room. After stripping my shirt and jeans and sliding into a pair of sweatpants, I slid between the sheets of my bed, sighing deeply. Part of me wished that I would wake up in the morning and forget all about this, while the other part of me hoped I wasn't imagining all of this. I wanted this to be purely my imagination, to forget all about this seemingly impossible situation, but I also wanted this to be real. Something drew me to Arthur, as if he were a magnet. I couldn't place the feeling, but for some reason, I felt like I was supposed to be here.

I groaned and rubbed my face, my fingers sliding under my glasses to rub at my eyes. I took them off and set them on my night stand, then rolled onto my side and closed my eyes.

 

When I next opened my eyes, sunlight was gently filtering through the windows, right onto my eyes. I groaned and rolled over, trying to duck my head under my blankets, but after a minute of laying there, I realized I wasn't going to fall back asleep. I sat up and groaned, cracking my back and neck. The red numbers on my clock read 7:21. 

After grabbing my glasses, I went to my bathroom. After finishing basic business, I went to go wash my face in a tired daze. I rubbed some basic cleanser on, scrubbing my face well. I looked up at my mirror, then, my head ducked down to be closer to the water so I could splash the product off. When I looked up again to see how much more I had left, I saw someone in my mirror behind me.

I whipped around and saw Arthur standing there with his arms crossed, a disappointed look on his face. It took my tired brain a minute to recall yesterday, then I sighed. “God dammit, Arthur. I thought we talked about this!” I said, panting as my elevated heart rate decreased. 

He raised his eyebrows, though the expression on his face remained unchanged. “I apologize,” he said. 

I turned back to the sink, finishing rinsing my face. “Nah, it's cool. I know you can't help it. Damn, if I could, I'd get you a bell.” I said, grabbing a fluffy towel and patting my face dry. Then, while wiping my shoulders and neck, I turned to him. “You can go back to the living room, dude. I have to get dressed and stuff.”

He nodded and walked out of the closed door, making me shudder. I wasn't going to get used to this. 

I changed into a baseball tee and jeans, then walked into my kitchen. I was honestly surprised that I didn't see Arthur in the living room. “Artie?” I called, looking around. I thought that maybe he did that ghost vanishing thing again, but then when I looked further back, I saw him sitting on the bench by the large window, staring off into the early light of morning. For some reason, the sight of seeing him so peaceful made me smile.

I put a k-cup in the keurig and began making a nice black cup of coffee. Glancing in my fridge, mainly just out of habit, I wrinkled my nose at the lack of food inside. I had to go shopping, preferably today. I opted for just a bagel and carried that and my coffee over to where Arthur was. 

He glanced over at me when I sat down opposite of the semi-circle to him. “Good morning.” He said, despite all the awkwardness this morning.

I nodded and sipped my coffee, relishing in the warmth and taste. “Morning, dude. What’d you do last night?” 

“I… don't really know. It was kind of just a blur for a while.” He explained. I nodded but didn't respond, not that there really was a way to. 

After that, he didn’t really say anything else, he just kept staring out the window. I took a bite of my plain, disgusting bagel and started scanning over the documents I had sitting there. I didn’t feel the need to bring up idle chit-chat until I heard Arthur speak. “Won’t you be late for your job?” He asked me.

I shook my head, taking another bite of my bland bagel. “Nah, I’ve been working from home a lot recently. There's not much of a point of me going in when I'm having to run around so much anyway.” I said with a mouth full.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. “Chew your food before you speak, and use a coaster, would you?” He demanded. I rolled my eyes and swallowed my bread.

“God, you're like my ghost-mother, and I already have a real mom.” I groaned, but stuck a coaster under my coffee regardless. “Anyway, I was thinking we could head up to this ‘Fran’ guy’s house at like, 11 or something.”

Arthur nodded just as there was a knock at the door. I stood up and set my papers down. “Elm Road is kind of far, so we're gonna have to take my car.” I explained as I strode towards the door. I peered through the peephole and saw my brother, so I undid the locks on my door and opened it. “Hey Mattie! What're you doing here?” 

Matthew just gave me a blank, annoyed stare, probably unsure of if I was serious or not. When I gave no indication that I had any idea what he meant, he sighed. “You asked me to stop by today to help with your work, Al.” He said with clear annoyance in his voice. 

“I did?” I asked, horribly confused. 

Matthew pulled out his phone and scrolled through a few things before turning it towards me. On the screen, from a contact named ‘Al’ there was clearly a message that read, “Can u come over tomorrow to help me w/work?”

I internally face-palmed. This must have happened before Arthur appeared in my house. I hated myself right now.

I glanced back at Arthur, who was giving me the same look as my brother, then back to Matthew. “Sorry, Matt. Something… came up. Could we like, reschedule?” I asked, throwing another quick glance to Arthur.

Matthew raised his eyebrows. “It's your work, Al. I don't have to help you.” Then, noticing my nervous glances back in the apartment, he asked, “Is someone in there?”

Yes, Mattie. There's currently a ghost of a possible living man sitting by the window. Would you like to say hello?

As much as Matthew loved me, he would surely commit me if I said that.

“N-no!” I stammered quickly, then began laughing nervously. “Nope! Only me in there. All by myself. Not a single person. Why do you ask?” I rambled on quickly, making his eyes widen in surprise. “Do you… see someone?”

He did glance around really quickly, then glared at me. I internally sighed in relief; he couldn't see Arthur. “It's not funny anymore, Alfred! I still sleep with a fan on, and it makes my room  _ freezing  _ in the winter. I don't know why I even listen to you anymore.” He lectured, punching me in the arm. 

I laughed and pulled him in for a head lock, rubbing his hair with my knuckles despite his protest. “Ahaha! You know me! Always the jokester!” I laughed, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.

Matthew pulled away, annoyed, and tried to comb his hair back down. “God, you're insane. More so than usual. I don't know how your IQ is as high as it is.”

I shrugged. “So yeah, when I get a free day, I'll text you, for real this time. Sorry you had to drive all the way down here. Want a bland-ass bagel?” I offered.

He shook his head. “Nah, I'm good, I have plenty of super boring food at my own house.” He said, wrapping his arms around me and patting my back. “Hang in there, Al. You seem a lot happier here than you were at your other apartment. I hope this lease works out.”

I stiffened a little, knowing what that would mean for Arthur, then nodded into his shoulder, hugging him back. “Yeah, things will be fine, bro. They'll work out.”

With that, Matthew left and I shut the door, closing my eyes and leaning against it, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding. “You didn't have to cancel your plans for me.” I heard Arthur say.

I opened my eyes and shrugged, walking back towards him and sitting back down. “I know. I just really wanted to. Is that a crime?”

He shook his head. “I suppose not.” Then, after a moment of consideration, he spoke again. “You two do look remarkably similar.”

“Yeah? Didn't I mention we were twins?” I asked, picking up my coffee again. 

“You did, I just couldn't imagine two people with your face.” He said. I wasn't sure whether to take that as an insult or compliment, or maybe just a blunt observation.

“Yep, two peas in a pod. We're identical, but I got all the athleticism while he is more of an artsy person. He's just as smart as I am, though.” I explained, taking a sip. 

Arthur looked me over again, then smiled. “I could see you playing all sorts of sports.” He said.

I nodded, “I was in every sport in high school. I'm really mad that I chose to graduate early, because when I went to college when I was 17, I was too engrossed in my studies to even play sports for recreation. My hard work paid off in the end,  but some of my greatest memories were playing sports.”

“I feel like I can relate to that, though I'm not sure why.” Arthur mused.

“Dude, no offense, but I don't think you even know how to kick a soccer ball, let alone  _ run _ .” I scoffed.

“Oh, be quiet!” he hissed. “It's not very clear, but I believe I was more into literature and the arts, like your brother. I presume he also graduated early?” 

“Yeah, we both finished high school in three years, and college in two. We were born in July, so we weren't even 19 graduated.”

“Wow, you've done a lot in such a short amount of time.” He remarked.

I nodded, then stood up. “Alright! Come on, let's go!” I said, taking my half eaten bagel and barely drank coffee and brought them to the kitchen.

“What? It's hardly even eight!” He exclaimed. “You said you wanted to wait until eleven.”

“Yeah.” I said in a way it sounded like I was pointing out the obvious. “But I have to get groceries! I have like, one more bagel left. We can go to Frannie’s house after I get real food.”

He looked reluctant, but eventually we left the house in search for something a healthy young male could eat.

We only spent maybe twenty minutes at the grocery store, and since it was so close we had opted to walk there and back. It was a nice day, pretty cool for how late it was in the year. I had on a warm jacket, while he seemed fine in his ghostliness. The groceries hardly even seemed heavy as we were walking back home.

We were almost at my apartment building when there was a scream, making us both freeze. I couldn't see it very well, but it looked like something happened across the street. I shrugged and was going to keep going, but Arthur stopped me with his words. “You're just going to walk away?”

“What do you want me to do? We don't know what the scream was about. And, I'm just a business man, there’s not much I can do anyway.” I argued.

Arthur seemed determined, however. “I feel some sort of connection to that place. We're going.” He decided, then ran into traffic. I freaked out for a moment, then remembered he didn't have a physical body.

“God dammit, Artie! We don't have time for this, my fudge pops are going to melt!” I yelled, but it seemed to be to no avail. I groaned and followed him, trying to dodge cars and juggle a gallon of milk and two bags of groceries at once.

When I entered the building, I saw a crowd of people surrounding a person who was laying on the floor, taking shallow breaths. Arthur was kneeling next to him. “What's going on here?” I asked.

I got a mix of reactions and didn't process any of them, so I dumped my groceries on the floor and kneeled next to Arthur. “Tell them you're a doctor.” He hissed in my ear.

“I'm a doctor.” I proclaimed, making Arthur roll his eyes.

“Open his shirt.” He said.

“Open his shirt!” I repeated dumbly. 

“No, you open it, git!” Arthur hissed.

“I'll open it!” I said as the guy crouching next to us was trying to open his shirt. I opened it up, then stared at Arthur.

“Feel his chest, can you feel the ribs?” He instructed.

I pressed my fingers into the skin, internally cringing. This was so gross. “No, but I can when I push down hard enough.” I said, disturbed at the feeling of bones and air.

“His chest is bloated, there's air trapped inside.” He explained.

I wanted to ask him how he knew that, but with the people this close, they would think I was crazy. “Can I have some room to work?” I asked. Everyone backed away, forming a large circle around us.

“Ask for a bottle of vodka and a paring knife.” Arthur said.

“Really? Alcohol at a time like this?” I whispered. 

“Not for you! Now just ask!” he snapped. 

“God, fine! I need a bottle of vodka and a paring knife!” I shouted. Despite the dumb looks I got, someone ran to the back and got the bottle and a large knife. I swallowed thickly as I held them.

“Find his last two ribs and pour the vodka over the spot. There should be a valve there. You have to let the air out, or the lungs will constrict.” Arthur instructed.

“How do you even know any of this?” I whispered, but did as I was told. The guy looked like he was struggling to breathe. His eyes kept fluttering.

“I don't know, I just do.” he said, catching my eyes. “Now, take the knife and make an incision in him.”

Wow,  _ that  _ took a turn. “I can't do that!” I hissed, looking at the knife as it glinted.

“You can, you need to let air out of his chest. Now, hurry!” Arthur demanded.

“I can't!” I practically squeaked.

“Sir, are you alright?” Someone from the crowd asked.

I shot my head up and smiled nervously. “Yep! Just trying to think of the best way to do this. Now, can we have silence from the peanut gallery?” I asked. Then, I looked back down at the guy. Come on, Alfred. It's just a knife. And a guy. 

I took a deep breath, then pressed the tip of the knife into his skin. It indented slightly, but it did not break the skin. “Harder, use more force.” Arthur demanded. I kept pressing harder until I heard a pop, and saw the knife tip was lodged into the skin. I was gonna throw up. “Now, take the bottle pourer and press it into the hole. You need to keep the wound open.”

Before I did that, I took a swig of the bottle, then pressed the pourer in. When I did, there was a hiss, and I saw the guy’s chest deflate. There were sighs and cheers, and I let out the breath I was holding. “Thank God you knew what to do.”

“It's because I'm a doctor, like Elizabeta said.” He said. “I work at the hospital.”

“What hospital?” I asked him. 

“Pardon?” Someone close by asked me. I flinched.

“Oh! I was just wondering which hospital this guy would be going to. Do you happen to know which one is closest? I'm not from around here.” I asked.

The guy frowned. “I believe it's Saint Mary’s Hospital.”

“That's it. I work there.” Arthur insisted.

“Thank you, sir. Now, I'll just go. I have fudge pops that are melting.” I said, awkwardly exiting. I got weird looks, but I really just wanted to get out of there before I really did throw up.

We made it back to my apartment and I threw the food on the counter. Whatever needed put in the refrigerator was placed inside, then I collapsed on the couch, already exhausted. It wasn't even ten in the morning and I was done with today.

“So, now we have 2 leads. We can either go to this Fran person’s house, or we can head up to Saint Mary's. Where do you want to go first?” I asked, covering my eyes with my arm.

Arthur hesitated. I removed my arm and sat up, looking at him. “Artie?”

“You sure are doing a lot for someone you're not even sure is anything beyond a figment of your imagination.” He said slowly. “Any normal person would have called an exorcist, or moved. Why are you doing this?” He asked with narrow, skeptical eyes. 

I pondered over my answer for a moment, then gave him a smile. “Because you _do_ exist, and I can't just leave a damsel in distress.” I said. He raised an eyebrow when I said damsel, however, he let me continue. “I got this feeling as soon as I met you. It kind of felt like, like um, like this was destined to happen. It's the same feeling I got when I leased this apartment. It's like, something greater was waiting for me. If that piece of paper floating in the wind didn't slap me in the face when I was talking to my realtor, I never would have been here to meet you. So it kinda feels like, I have to do it. But don't take that the wrong way! I _want_ to do it, too. And, if you really are dying, I want to help you. You know?”

Arthur seemed to take that into serious consideration. The facts were that there was a spirit trapped between earth and heaven, if that's where spirits are to go, and I felt like he needed me. It wasn't necessarily an obligation, it felt like the what I had to do, as if it was already predestined for me. Everything in my life was leading up to this moment.

“I…” Arthur finally started, gaining and keeping eye contact with me. “Don't agree with your reasoning, but I will respect your choice.”

“Well, it's a start. Now come on, let's go to this address. It's killing me to know who it is.” I said, jumping up again and dashing to get my keys.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Don't you ever slow down?” He asked.

“Nope! When you gotta go, you gotta go!” I said, practically bouncing out the window and towards the elevator.

I was practically sprinting towards the parking garage, and he was annoyed the entire way there. My car was a tiny red Ford, and even though the brand was garbage, I still loved my car. I got in, and the fast and furious side of me took over as we exited the garage, driving down the busy streets of New York.

We had more than a little trouble finding the house, and by the time we did, it was closer to lunch, which reminded me just how hungry I was. When I suggested to stop for lunch first, Arthur snapped at me. We were quiet as we walked up to 455 Elm Road. I knocked on the door, and after a few minutes, it opened.

An older gentleman, probably around the age of fifty answered. “Can I help you?” He asked.

I offered my hand. This felt annoyingly familiar. “My name is Alfred F. Jones. Does someone with the name Fran live here?” I asked.

He narrowed his eyes. “My name is Frank Dewitt, if that's what you mean.”

I glanced at Arthur. This was good. “I was wondering if you knew a guy, blonde, green eyes, about 5’8-”

“5’9.”

“-5’9? Sound familiar?” I asked.

The guy’s face fell and he stepped out, shutting the door. “Did my wife send you?” he demanded.

“Excuse me?”

“Listen, she'll be at work tonight at 6. Stop by then, and I'll give you 500 dollars to keep silent.” He hissed, then slammed the door. 

Arthur and I stood there, blinking in confusion. “What… was that?” He asked.

I began to bust out laughing. “Dude, you're a  _ slut _ ? What's your persona,  _ hot nurse _ ?” I asked, finding the possibility hysterical.

His face began to get red. “I'm not a slut! Am I?” he asked quietly as we began walking back to the car.

“I don't know, but you just scored me 500 bucks.” I said.

“Do not take that money!” he hissed at me.

We were so caught up in our antics that we never would have seen the man with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes walking out of a house at the address of 456 Elm Road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write the majority of this in small parts, so I'm sorry if there seems to he some disconnect. I also write this mainly on my phone, so sorry for any grammar issues. See you next chapter~


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding out about Arthur's life is proving to be more of a hassle than a help. Especially once they learn what's about to happen.

The ride to Saint Mary’s was long and quiet. Arthur looked deep in thought, and I just let him think. He probably wasn't a slut, but I was like ninety percent sure that that wasn't what he was concerned about right now. Well, more like eighty.

I tried making conversation, even mentioning this was where I brought my fiance earlier in the year. How I had forgotten was beyond me. I liked to think it was the excessive amount of drinking I had done. Even with that bit of information, however, he still seemed out of it. I remained quiet after that, letting him lose himself in his thoughts, and me in mine.

We pulled into the visitor parking lot at about one in the afternoon. The sky was still mostly clear, but in the distance there were definitely grey clouds looming over, rolling towards us. “I hope it doesn't rain,” I muttered, sliding out of the car and locking it.

Arthur stood next to me, crossing his arms as if he were cold. “Shall we just head in?” He suggested, gesturing with his head towards the door. I nodded, rubbing my arms, feeling a breeze against my skin. It was just slightly too cool for my liking, especially since we were promised a mild winter again.

We walked through the doors and were met with what felt like a wall of cold air. I instantly regretted leaving my warm jacket in the car. My baseball tee was not enough for how late in the year it was. Sometimes I wanted to call myself an idiot for the stupid things I did.

There was a gift shop to our left, filled with balloons and stupid trinkets and cards for people either too lazy to make a real trip to the store or in a hurry to grab something for a loved one. “Should I buy you a balloon?” I teasingly whispered to him as we made our way towards the receptionist desk. He shot me a glare, though he looked mostly uncomfortable if anything. He kept rolling his shoulders and moving his arms, and his face had a grimace on it. “Dude, you okay?” I asked him. He looked truly uncomfortable in his own skin.

He tried to unfurrow his brows, but then instantly furrowed them again. “I'm… not quite sure. I feel like all of my joints are stiff and I ache all over.” He said.

I raised my eyebrows, but couldn't question further because we had reached the desk. The receptionist glanced up at us, then looked back down at what she was doing without so much as acknowledging us. When she didn't say anything, I cleared my throat and drummed my fingers on the polished white desk. “Um, hello.”

She looked back up at us again, clearly annoyed. She looked like an angsty teenager with horrible eyeliner all around her eyes and her dark filled in eyebrows, in horrible contrast to her bleached hair might I add. “What?” She practically snapped. It surprised me to see a hospital staff this angry, especially since when I was here earlier in the year, everyone seemed so pleasant.

“She's as pleasant as ever.” Arthur mused boredly. “She’s fairly new, she got hired in June. I guess, if it’s October, she has been here for four months. You’d think they would have broken this bad habit of hers.”

“I'm here to uh, see a friend.” I said slowly. “But I'm not sure if he’s at this hospital. I wasn’t really given clear directions. Could you check for me?”

If she had gum, she would be chewing it with her mouth open obnoxiously. Instead, she clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Wanna tell me his name, bud?”

“It's uh, Arthur.” I said.

She downright glared at me. “And his last name?” She asked slowly as if I were stupid. I’m not stupid, lady, just dumb. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t say that outloud, or her point would have been proven.

I went to say his last name, but I completely blanked. For some reason, I just could not remember it. Arthur seemed to notice this, and he sighed.

“Kirkland.” Arthur supplied. I almost facepalmed myself. How could I forget so easily?

“It's Kirkland. Arthur Kirkland.” I said.

Her head whipped up and her eyebrows raised. “Oh, Dr. K? Yeah, he's here. I'm surprised you haven't been here to see him sooner.” she said. “I can take you there.”

“Tell her you've been out of the country.”

“I just got back from a business trip in Japan. I wanted to come back sooner, but I couldn't because of work.” I said, glancing at Arthur for approval. He nodded.

The girl stood up and began walking down the hall. I followed suite. “Yeah, Dr. Kirkland’s accident was a big surprise to all of us. He was on his way home or something, then he was back within an hour, only not in the way we would have liked.” she explained, walking quite briskly. “It's been like, three months now. They're trying to convince his family to take him off.”

“Take him off what?” I asked as she rounded a corner very suddenly.

She gave me a dumb look as she walked. “Life support, duh. Did you think he was just sitting in here, fresh as a daisy?”

I felt stupid. “Right, sorry. They didn't tell me very many details when I came back, not even the hospital.” I said with a nervous laugh.

She finally stopped in front of a door labeled 405. “This is him. One of the doctors might be in soon to check on him, so if they do you need to go.” she explained, then began walking back to her desk.

I turned towards Arthur to gage his reaction, but he was gone. I blinked in confusion, but twisted the door handle regardless.

Inside, to my surprise, though I'm not sure why it was one, was Arthur, laying in the bed, hooked up to countless machines that beeped and whirred. He didn't look hurt, he looked more like he was asleep. And standing beside the bed was also Arthur, staring down at himself with a neutral look. He didn't look to be in pain anymore.

“Wow, we finally found you.” I said in awe. “I won't lie, I was starting to think you didn't actually exist.”

“Me as well.” He said quietly. “I just can't believe I'm dead.”

“What? You're not dead.” I said, gesturing to the heart monitor which was steadily beeping. “See? A heartbeat. You're alive.”

He gave me a grim look. “The second they take me off, I'll be dead. If I've been like this for three months, there's almost no chance that I'll wake up.” He said solemnly, dragging his fingers down the monitor.

I shut up after that. He was the doctor. He turned away from his body and looked at the pictures and cards on the window sill. I walked over to stand next to him. “You were really loved.” I said, admiring all the stuff lying there. There were nice store bought cards, not the cheap ass ones from the gift shop, might I add, and homemade ones made from construction paper and glue. There were vases of roses and daisies and deflating latex balloons and teddy bears. Then, I noticed a picture of him glaring while someone wrapped their arm around his shoulders to pull him in. The other guy looked older than Arthur, but not by much. He had shoulder length blonde hair that was tied in the back, though strands had slipped out and hung in the front, and a beard, though it was all stubble. The surrounding area behind them was dark, but from the reflection of the flash, you could see other people around them, indicating they were in a crowd. Although he was glaring, he genuinely looked like he was enjoying himself. “Who is that?” I asked, pointing.

Arthur stared for a moment. “I believe that was my college roommate, Francis.” He said. “I think in this picture, it was my twenty first birthday, so to celebrate, he took me to a club and got me, as you would say, shit-faced. This wasn't that long ago.” He trailed off.

For some reason, the name sounded familiar, though I didn't know why or from where. I shrugged, choosing not to pursue the thought, as it wasn’t all that uncommon of a name and I didn’t recognize his face, then turned back to Arthur's main body. It honestly hurt me to see him like that. I hadn’t known Arthur for that long, but I felt like in the day and a half that we had known each other, we had sort of bonded. Perhaps, if he woke up, we might actually be friends. No, not if, but when. It gave me confidence to know that he wasn't dead yet. I placed my hand on his thigh, finding relief that I could actually feel him. He turned around sharply and blinked. I jumped, feeling my heart beat faster, as if I were caught doing something I shouldn’t be.

“Did you just touch me?” He asked, his voice full of disbelief.

I blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Did you touch me? On the thigh?”

I looked down at his main body, then up at him. “Uh… yeah? Why, was that wrong? Should I not have?” I asked, swallowing.

He stared at me for a moment, then he glanced down at his body. He walked over and brushed his own arm, although his fingers slipped right through. Then, in a quiet whisper, he said, “I could feel that.” Then, a little louder as he glanced up at me, he repeated, “Alfred, I could feel that.”

Curious, I tapped his leg again. He looked down at his leg on his ghost body, brushing it gently. I felt a rush inside of me.

“See, Artie? You're still alive. You wouldn't be able to feel that if you were dead. There's still hope.” I breathed.

Arthur looked like he wanted to say something, but the door suddenly slammed open and a small boy with blonde hair and a school uniform dashed into the room, his arms out as if he were a plane. He sailed right past me and practically slammed into the bed next to Arthur. I blinked in surprise, as did Arthur. “Peter?” He said softly in disbelief. “That means…”

I didn't get a chance to question him because soon after, someone walked through the door,  slightly winded. He had ash blonde hair and a round face, barely looking older than a teenager, especially due to the fact that he wasn't very tall.

“Peter, what did I say about running in the hospital? Get off of Arthur!” he snapped, though through the deep breaths and his bubbly voice, it was hard to take him seriously.

Peter didn't respond to the male, though he did take a step back. “Listen here, Arthur! I got an A on my writing assignment! I used the journal full of words you made me!” he squeaked.

Arthur cupped his elbows and smiled. “You never were the best at writing. It's good that you're getting better.” He said, though Peter didn't even seem to acknowledge him.

The male walked up to Peter and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him harshly into his figure. “Your father is going to be very angry with you when he gets in here!” He said with a stern look and voice. Then he sighed and glanced over at me with an apologetic smile. “I'm sorry for him, he gets really excited when he gets to visit Arthur. You apologize as well, Peter.”

“I'm sorry, mister.” Peter said, staring at his shoes.

I blinked, kind of forgetting for a moment that I could be seen, then waved him off. “No, it's okay. It wasn't a problem, don't worry about it.” I said.

The man brushed his hair out of his face, then stuck out his hand. I gripped it firmly. “My name is Tino, and this is Peter. Were you a friend of Arthur's?” He asked.

I thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, I've just been away for a while, so I haven't had a chance to stop by yet.” I said. “My name is Alfred, by the way.”

“Well, Alfred,” he said with a sad smile. “I'm glad you stopped by before the end of the week.”

I gave him a confused look. “What's so special about the end of the week?” I asked.

Tino frowned. Then, he released and gave Peter a gentle push. “Peter, go find your father, okay?” He said.

“Okay!” Peter exclaimed, zooming out of the room.

Tino glanced at Arthur’s body, then back at me. His face was grim. “My husband and Arthur’s friend Francis are signing the papers right now to take Arthur off of life support. He'll be gone by Friday.” He explained.

I felt my heart stop. I don't think I had a heartbeat for a solid 30 seconds. “Oh.” is all I could say, sounding like a dumbass.

Arthur got really angry. “What? Tino, I'm not dead! I'm right here.” He yelled, though Tino didn't seem to notice. “You can't kill me!”

“Yeah,” Tino said, taking a shaky breath and looking out the window. “He’s been like this since July. They told us there's no chance for him. And anyway, Arthur didn't believe in artificial life. It's not natural.” He explained.

Arthur looked devastated. “You're right, I didn't, but that was before! I believe now! Please, please don't kill me!” he begged.

“It’s going to happen Friday morning, if you wanted to stop by anytime before then. I don’t know how I’m going to tell Peter…” He trailed off, refusing to look at me. He was probaby crying.

Today was Tuesday. I had two full days to try to convince Arthur’s family to keep him alive.

There was knock at the door, and in walked a tall, intimidating man in a trench coat holding Peter and Francis. I could recognize him from the photo. They glanced at me, though they didn't say anything to me. “Tino, we need to go. The doctors need in here.” Francis said.

Tino wiped his eyes quickly with his sleeve. “Yeah, okay.” He breathed. He ducked past Francis and who I assumed to be his husband and walked out of the room briskly. His husband followed him with his eyes, then turned to follow him.

“Why is daddy crying?” I heard Peter ask, though I didn't hear a response. They left, leaving me and Francis by ourselves in the room with Arthur.

“I suppose he told you?” He asked. I nodded. Francis sighed. “We should have done this months ago like he wanted.”

“So there's no chance that he can wake up?” I asked.

Francis shook his head, his blonde locks bouncing. “After three months,”

“It's pretty much over.” He and Arthur finished together. I glanced back and forth between them.

I felt his hand on my shoulder and turned to look. “Like I said earlier, the doctors need in here, so you need to go.” He said.

I nodded, swallowing down the lump forming in my throat. As I turned to leave, however, I felt the hand grip my shoulder harder.

“Do we know each other?” He asked me. Arthur snapped his head up and I raised my eyebrows.

“I don't believe so, why?” I asked.

He stared at me hard, then sighed. “Your face just seems very similar. What's your name?” He asked.

“Alfred.” I said, though it sounded more like a question.

He furrowed his brow. “I swear I've met you before.” He pondered over it, then sighed. “Well, whatever. Have a nice day.” He said, taking a final glance at Arthur before exiting the room.

I glanced over at Arthur. “You ready to go?” I asked him. Without looking up from staring at his body, he nodded. He looked reluctant to leave, however. I pursed my lips. “You can stay here, if ya want.”

He thought about it, then shook his head. “I’d… rather not be here.” He whispered, and I nodded curtly. I opened the door, and we both began to walk out. I even waved to the nasty receptionist, though she rolled her eyes when I did. I really hoped they either fired her or whipped a new attitude into her.

The trip back to the car was silent, though Arthur started to look uncomfortable again. However, when we got back to the car, I couldn't contain my questions any longer. “So who was the kid?” I asked. “He sounded like he admired you.”

“He's my late sister's child.” he said simply as if that explanation was sufficient enough. When I kept staring at him, refusing to turn on the car, he sighed. “Do I have to tell you my life story?” he asked. I nodded. He rolled his eyes.

“That tall scary guy, his name is Berwald. He and my sister were married for a year before they finally had a child. She died during childbirth.” He said. Then, he glanced the other way. “He was a single father for a while until he met Tino. They still let me visit him, thank God.”

I felt a surge of energy inside of me, then I suddenly threw on my seatbelt and put the car in reverse, backing out of the spot a little quickly. Arthur’s eyes widened in surprise. “Alfred, what the bloody hell are you doing?” He demanded.

“It's time to visit a friend! We're gonna wake you up, Artie! I promise!” I exclaimed. “You won’t have to say goodbye to Peter or Francis or anyone!

“If you don't bloody kill yourself first! Alfred, slow down!”

 

After racing through town and nearly giving Arthur an aneurysm could he get one, we arrived at our destination: the book store. Despite protest, I dashed inside the cold building, my senses instantly being assaulted by darkness and the smell of dust. Behind the counter stood a man with light hair and dull eyes staring down at a book he was reading. He didn't even glance up when I quite obnoxiously made my way over to the desk.

“Luke, my man! What's up?” I asked, sticking my hair up in the air for a high five.

He glanced up at the hand, but promptly ignored me and looked back down at his book. “It's Lukas. What do you want, Alfred?” He asked in a monotone voice. “If this is about aliens again, I'm not interested.”

“By God, Alfred. Do you annoy the entire state of New York?” Arthur asked me in an annoyed tone. “And do you give everyone a God awful nickname?”

“Be quiet!” I hissed, making Lukas glance up at me again quickly to make sure I wasn't with someone he didn't notice. “Anyway, this is actually real this time, I promise!” I insisted, placing my hands on the counter and rocking back and forth.

“Mhm. What is it?” He asked, clearly not convinced. Arthur snickered.

“What do you do if someone is having an out of body experience?” I asked.

Now, _that_ sparked his attention. He looked up at me and closed his book after placing an intricate bookmark inside. “What do you mean by ‘out of body experience’?” he asked me. Then he narrowed his eyes. “This isn't something from a stupid TV show, is it?”

“No! Dude, this is serious!” I insisted, hitting the counter repeatedly. “Like, someone is asleep, but like, a ghost of them is walking around. Oh, but like, only one person can see them.” I explained. He nodded and let me continue, pondering my words. “They're definitely alive, but like, can't wake up.”

“Are you talking about the person who walked in with you?” He asked me, looking right at Arthur.

Arthur froze, meeting Lukas’s gaze. “You can see me?” He asked. When Lukas didn't respond, he turned to me. “Can he see me?”

“How do you know that? Can you see somebody?” I asked quietly, leaning in.

Lukas shook his head. “I can't see anyone besides you, Alfred. I can sense another person in the room, however.”

I perked up. “So how do I fix it?” I asked. “Have you dealt with it before?”

He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, staring at the ceiling before answering. “No, I haven't.” He informed be. Before I could look too dejected, he added, “Not personally, anyway. I don't know if there's one fix to it, but I have an idea.”

“Really? What is it?” I asked, bubbling with excitement.

“Don't get too excited, Alfred. It's only a theory. There's no guarantee that what he says will magically fix me.” Arthur snapped, making me frown. Lukas frowned as well.

“It's quite a negative spirit, isn't it? I'm getting real negative vibes.” He said. I snorted, and Arthur looked offended. “Anyway, like I said, this is just an idea, but it might work from what I've heard.” I nodded eagerly for him to go on, and even Arthur leaned in.

“What you need to do is connect his spiritual essence to his body.”

I blinked, waiting to see if there was anything else, but he showed no signs of wanting to continue. “That's it? Just stuff him back into his body? God, even _I_ could have thought of that!” I yelled, smacking the counter.

“So much for your ingenious idea.” Arthur muttered with distaste.

Lukas rolled his eyes. “That's not what I meant, Alfred, and you know it.. There's a reason that this person has separated from their body. And, there hs to be a reason that only you can see him.  You need to find out that reason to connect them. People don't just split from themselves for fun.” He explained.

“What?” I demanded. “Find out why he separated from his body? Dude, that could take weeks, if we ever even find out! I need like, a faster solution!” I said. If we had to wait that long, Arthur would be taken off of life support. I glanced over at him, trying to meet his eyes, but he was staring at the wooden floors.

Lukas simply shrugged, going back to his book. “I'm sorry, Alfred. There's no magic solution for everything.”

Frustrated, the two of us turned to leave, but Lukas grabbed my arm. I turned to look at him, and he gestured for me to lean in. I got close, and he whispered, “If you wake this person up, they may not remember any of what's happening right now, so if they don't already know you, they won't remember you. But I truly believe you’re the key in solving this. Is that what you really want, Alfred? To have all you’re doing be for not?”

I pulled my arm free. “I'm not doing it for me.” I said with conviction. Lukas shrugged, and me and Arthur exited the bookstore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter! I was having a really hard time starting this, but when someone messaged me saying they couldn't wait for the next chapter, I made a goal for myself to have the next chapter uploaded by today. I hope you guys enjoy! It may seem like things are moving really quickly, but don't worry, I have plenty planned for the new chapters!  
> Have a nice day~~


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred keeps getting reminded that he's running out of time.

We got in my car and sat in silence for awhile, unmoving. Arthur probably contemplated his death that was to be in a few days, while I contemplated his life that I had to save. We had two full days to figure out why he was in this ‘in-between’, as it were. I seriously doubted anyone would listen to me, let alone believe me, if I said they had to extend the deadline of his death because he wasn't dead. I'm not so unreasonable as to think that I wouldn't get kicked out and emotionally traumatize his family severely. I had to think fast.

Considering the fact that the only thing I had eaten today was about four bites of a nasty bagel, I drove to a local Subway and grabbed a footlong and a drink. Arthur patronized me the entire time, but I just laughed him off, getting a few weird stares. I almost offered to get him something, but I realized what I was about to say before saying it and shut up, opting not to look stupid. 

The ride home was full of Arthur criticising my driving and me telling him to suck an egg. We made it back to my apartment building in one piece -  _ somehow, _ emphasized Arthur when I mentioned it out loud - and began heading back to my apartment. My phone started buzzing halfway down the hallway, and with a mouth full of sub, I answered it.

“Yo.” I answered simply, although it sounded muffled. I barely chewed my food before swallowing it. It was probably killing Arthur to not snap at me.

“ _ Alfred? It's me, Anastasia. _ ” my realtor chirped in my ears. 

I’m pretty sure my heart literally stopped when I realized who it was. She would only call me for two reasons; I had to give the apartment up, or it was mine for however long I wanted. Something told me it wasn't the first option.

“Yeah? What's up?” I asked, though there was a nervous edge in my voice. She didn't seem to sense it through her absolutely thrilled tone.

“ _ It's yours! The apartment, it’s all yours for as long as your heart desires! You can even keep the furniture! _ ” she exclaimed. 

With my suspicions confirmed, I felt my palms growing sweaty. “Oh, is it?” I asked half heartedly. “What changed?”

“ _ Get this - the former tenant has been in a coma for three months. They kept him alive against his wishes, but they're finally pulling the plug! Isn't it great? _ ” Then, after a pause, she added, “ _ I mean, you getting the apartment. Not him dying. Even I'm not that heartless. _ ” she clarified.

I swallowed thickly, glancing at Arthur. He looked confused as to what I was talking about. “That's… great. Thank you, Annie.” I said, though my tone was lackluster.

She finally caught on. “ _ Alfred, what's up? I thought you would be excited; you've been looking forward to this all month. Out of all the apartments we viewed for you, this is the only one you liked. _ ” she reminded me. “ _ I showed you thirty-four before this one, and you declined them all because they just ‘didn't feel right’. This apartment is beautiful, Alfred, and it's all yours. You worked hard to get to where you are, shouldn't you relish in the spoils of all your hard work? _ ”

I cleared my throat as we finally reached said apartment. I stuck the key in the lock and twisted it, granting us access inside. “Sorry, I know you've been looking forward to it as well. Something just, came up earlier, so I'm still a little down from it. Thank you though, Annie. I'll call you later this week to finalize things.”

“ _ Wait, Al- _ ”

Before she could finish her sentence, I hung up on her. I wasn't really in the mood to listen to her go on about something causing me great distress. “Alfred, what's wrong? Who was that?” I heard Arthur ask as I sat by the large window on the semi-circle bench. 

I sighed, leaning forward and pinching the bridge of my nose. “That was my realtor. She said that I'm getting a full lease on this place.” I said in an exhausted voice.

Arthur pursed his lips. “This isn't new information.” He reminded me. “You knew this was going to happen.”

“I know, I know!” I groaned, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “It's just, all of the pieces are finally connecting now, and I'm starting to lose faith that I can save you in time.” 

“You don't have to save me.” Arthur told me. “You have no connection to me outside of this. In all reality, I should have died a long time ago.” 

“You have too many people depending on you!” I argued. “They clearly betrayed your wish because they cared about you and didn't want you to leave so soon! You're supposed to die when you’re all old and lived your life to the fullest! Not when your life is literally just starting! I’m sorry that I actually care! I'm starting to feel like you don’t!” I snapped at him. 

Arthur stared at me with calculating eyes, then sighed deeply. “Lift your seat up.” He told me. 

I stared at him with blank eyes, then blinked as I tried to make sense of where the conversation was heading. “Uh, what?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“Your seat. Lift the top off.” He repeated.

Skeptically, I stood up and removed the red floral lid from the bench, glancing at what was inside. I never really looked through it before, mainly because I wasn’t aware that these came off. I was genuinely surprised to see things inside. I began pulling out ratty books and small boxes, amazed that these weren’t removed before re-leasing the apartment. “No one knew that these came apart, simply because they weren’t supposed to.” He explained, as if reading my thoughts. “I am highly concerned about privacy, and I needed something that no one could find. Open the small mahogany box, if you would.”

I glanced up at him again nervously, but opened it regardless. Inside was a single key, which looked extremely dated. There was a small tag on it, but when I tried to read what it said, I couldn't make out any of the words. “What is this?” I asked.

“You know that locked door? The one by the closet?” He asked. I nodded. “It's a staircase. It was locked for as long as I can remember, and the building owner said no one was able to find the key in almost one hundred years. I happened to be cleaning one day and found it taped behind the large cabinet in the kitchen.” He explained to me. 

I almost expected this to have some secret meaning to it, but he didn't elaborate. “Okay? What does this have to do with anything?” I asked him. This had no connection to our previous argument. I was lost.

“Go unlock the door and follow the stairs.” he said. “There's something I keep hidden there. I want to show it to you. It might help you understand who I truly am.”

I was highly suspicious of what was happening. Two theories came to mind. One was that in his spare time, he was a psycho killer and he used his status as doctor as a cover-up to commit such heinous crimes. The other thought that came to mind was a sex dungeon, although the first option seemed much more plausible. I swallowed thickly but got up anyway. If he thought for a moment I would continue his crimes in his absence, he was dead wrong. I would pull his plug myself.

I gripped the key in my nervous palm, finding myself having difficulties placing the key in the lock. “What are you waiting for?” Arthur snapped behind me, making me jump and drop the key. I turned around to glare at him and squatted down, grabbing the key. I had more success in sticking the key in the hole this time around. 

The old wooden door swung open with a loud and ominous creak, making me stiffen. The stairs, which were hardly illuminated by the fading sunlight pouring through the house, led up, much to my surprise. Maybe he was the kind of psycho who had his bodies hidden in the attic. If Matthew were here with me, he would slap me for thinking the worst, though I know he would also be freaking out.

I took the stairs slowly, feeling a cold sweat on my skin. Arthur had been annoyed at my slow pace and he ascended the stairs much quicker than I, making it up far sooner than I did. I considered turning around, but I decided to give Arthur the benefit of the doubt. 

When I opened the door at the top of the stairs, I took a deep breath to calm myself. When I was expecting darkness, a bright light peeked through, confusing me. The door swung open in full, revealing the roof to the entire building. There was a lawn chair towards the edge with a small table right beside it. The roof was filthy, but for some reason, it felt as comfortable as the apartment did. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. “Oh, Christ. Thank God.” I muttered Arthur gave me a look.

“My - er,  _ your _ apartment used to be the building owner’s apartment a long time ago. That's why this is the only one that leads to the roof. I use it as a personal hideaway, what the bloody hell did you think was up here?” He asked.

“Well… I kinda thought this was a death chamber and you were going to make me continue your murderous work.” When he gave me an outrageous look, I waved my hands. “No like, I also thought it was a sex dungeon!” I justified as if that were any better.

“Oh great, you think I'm a murdering sex freak! What part of my life made you think either of those?” He asked, outraged.

“That Frank guy said you were his slut! Which reminds me, I have money to get from him.” 

“ _ Do not take that money, Alfred. _ ” He hissed at me as he were my mother. “And we had the wrong address! After I saw Francis, I remembered where he lived. He lives at 45 _ 6 _ Elm Road.” He elaborated. 

“You said it would help me understand you!”

“I meant hidden and simple, not creepy and  _ murderous. _ ”

“Well, whatever! Ask my siblings one of these days, my mind is always going the wrong direction!” I argued in my favor, although it didn't sound very convincing. “Anyway, why did you make me come up here?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

He sighed and brushed his hair from his forehead. “I thought you might listen to me if we were up here.” He said. Then he looked me deep in the eyes as he both leaned against the railing. “Please just let me talk. Don't interrupt me.”

I almost said something, but I didn't want to upset him further, so I just nodded. He took in a deep breath, held it, then exhaled. 

“My life has always been very much me living in the moment. I just accomplish one thing so that I may move onto the next thing. Every day I was just  _ there _ , not even considering my future. It's like reading a book as fast as you can, then starting the next one as soon as you read the last word. I found myself doing that frequently. I can't remember the last time I thought of long term.

“Even my job was a spur of the moment thing. I was about to be graduating high school in four months and realized I hadn't picked out a career path yet. I knew I had to pick one to attend college, so I decided on being a doctor. I had no true passion for it. Some days, I don't even think I enjoy being one. But it's what I chose. I graduated early, not quite as quickly as you did, at the top of my class, and was accepted into my position at Saint Mary’s, where I quickly rose in the ranks at such a young age. I'm only twenty three.

“When you said that you're supposed to live until you're old and have lived your life to the fullest, it made me realize something. If I am to live, that means I'll just go back to day-by-day. I'll be giving others the opportunity to do what I will never be able to do; live. That's why, if I am to die today, I wouldn't be devastated. My being in a coma has really made me stop and think about things. I can't speak for others, but this is just my own thought process. Can one really consider all of that living?”

I didn't answer him right away. I thought about everything he was saying and tried to not to let my own beliefs cloud my judgement. After careful consideration, I responded. “I think it would still be considered living.” I said.

He stared off into the distance, admiring the incredible scenery of New York. “Care to elaborate?” He asked with a solemn look on his face.

“Well,” I started, stretching my arms out. “It's not necessarily how you live your life that defines it, it's how life makes you feel when you live it. You kept saying how fast paced your life was, but my life was exactly the same. I was always in sports to try and be the fastest. I graduated high school as a junior, then graduated college as a sophomore. I got my job, then tried my hardest to get as high up as possible. And for what? Money? Status? Respect from my family? I got all of that, so what's next? There's nothing left to achieve, so basically each day for me feels spontaneous, but at the same time, I can't help that it sometimes kinda lonely and dull. You're the first real thing that's happened to me that made me feel like I wasn't just falling into the daily grind. So you might say that I'm not really living, but I can tell you right now, while I'm stuck in an endless cycle of sameness, I've never felt more  _ alive _ . Life doesn't have to be thrilling everyday for you to enjoy it.”

The wind was biting my skin now, making me shiver, but I stood there and waited for his reaction. What he said made sense, and I felt like my argument was weak and unstructured, but believe me when I say it came from the heart. I didn't really know if what I was doing was going to make me happy forever, but I knew right now, being immersed in what I loved surrounded by who I loved made me feel like I would never be happier, even on the dull days. Arthur's appearance was the first thing in a while that had snapped me from the normal flow of things and made me feel like I was on a journey, and that made me wonder if I was only feeling the way I do now because of that. I couldn't ponder it much longer before Arthur cracked a smile and glanced back over at me. 

“You know, Alfred, I truly enjoy being around you. Your positivity is a much needed ray of sunshine.”

I gave him as smile as well. “You too, Artie.”

He crossed his arms over the rail and leaned his head on them, looking right into my blue eyes with his own jade eyes. “I think that God-awful nickname is growing on me.”

“You told me you couldn't stand it.” I pointed out, turning so my back hit the railing. 

Arthur shrugged without standing upright. “When it comes from you, it feels different.” He explained. I beamed.

I stared up at the sky which was quickly darkening, the corners of my lips barely curling up. “I'm gonna wake you up, Arthur. I promise.”

He didn't respond, simply because it would throw our argument into an infinite loop. We decided to head back downstairs once I realized I couldn't feel my nose, and I began working on some neglected documents. Arthur seemed positively bored sitting there as he was unable to hold anything that could entertain him. Once I noticed, I began making idle chit-chat with him. The sunlight had long since faded and my work was being completed, slowly but surely. I didn't realize how late it was until my phone started buzzing. “Excuse me, Arthur.” I said, then answered the call. “Hello?”

“ _ Alfred, what the hell?! _ ” I heard Gilbert, Matthew's boyfriend, shout at me.

“What, Gil? What do you want?” I asked him, somewhat surprised. Gilbert was always crazy, but at least a third of the time he had a rationale behind it.

“ _ You haven't sent me a single fucking Game of Thrones spoiler! I actually had to watch it and be surprised! What the actual hell, Jones? _ ” He demanded.

I actually facepalmed myself. With Arthur currently sucking up all of my time, I had forgotten some basic things I did everyday. “Damn, sorry Gil. I forgot to watch it last night.” I told him.

“ _ What? Forgot to watch it? The awesome and amazing Alfred F. Jones doesn't forget to watch Game of Thrones! Seriously dude, Matthew mentioned something was off about you earlier. What's up? _ ” He questioned me.

“Whatever Matt said, ignore it.” I told him, rolling my eyes as I glanced at Arthur. “You know he likes to baby me. I'm fine, dude.”

“ _ Alfred, you know that you can talk to me about anything. _ ” He assured me.

“And you know I would tell you if something was wrong. Seriously, Gilbert, I'm fine.” I reassured him. 

Gilbert was quiet for a moment, very uncharacteristic for him, then responded in a quiet voice, which was also out of character. “ _ Just let me know, bro. We're all worried about you. _ ” He said.

“I know, and I'm glad you are. I just have… a lot on my plate right now. Invite me over Saturday, if you're so worried, but dude, I'm fine.” I said. 

He didn't seem entirely convinced, but he dropped the subject. After a few more words, we hung up. I tossed my phone on the table, where it rattled loudly. Arthur looked at me, his face twisted with concern. 

“Alfred, you look exhausted. You've been running around a lot tonight, you should go to bed.” He suggested. 

I opened my mouth to protest, but when I realized how late it was, I shut my mouth and nodded, taking off my glasses and rubbing my eyes. “I think I'm going to have to take you up on that. I'm pooped.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Alright, I'll see you in the morning.” He said.

I turned to leave, but then stopped. I turned back to Arthur, and he raised his eyebrows. “Arthur?” 

“Yes, Alfred?”

There were so many things I could have said right then. I could have said anything, but instead, I gave a small sigh.

“Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the nice comments you guys are leaving me are making me cry! I keep thinking I should stop writing this and no one would care, and then I see that and my poor heart melts. You all are my inspiration!
> 
> I know this chapter was really short, and I'm sorry, but this is crucial information, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. And I felt like this was a chapter I could have a little fun with before some real serious stuff hit. Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon!


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred and Arthur have no idea what to do.

I woke up the next morning before the sun, which was quite unusual for me ever since I had begun working at home. I rolled over and opened my eyes, blinking in the darkness. I couldn't figure out why I was up at the asscrack of dawn without my alarm blaring next to me. Whenever I woke up early without an alarm, it was either because I went to bed ridiculously early or my mind was too awake to sleep. When I closed my eyes and laid there for half an hour trying to fall back asleep, I realized it was the latter. I felt like rolling my eyes at myself.

I thought it might be better to go clear my mind, so I sat up and fumbled through my room in the dark. I managed to fish out a pair of shorts and a hoodie, then I went into the bathroom and changing into both. I didn't particularly care to go for a run so early in the morning, hell, I didn't really care to  _ run _ , but I would rather do that than lay in bed restless for hours.

I walked into the kitchen to grab a muffin or something before I went and noticed that I didn't see Arthur in my living room. I shrugged it off, figuring he was doing that ghost disappearing act thing. I fished through the drawers, finding a pad of sticky notes and a marker. I wrote him a note saying I was going on a run and I would be back later. As I was sticking it to the counter, I gave a small, breathy laugh when I realized I was leaving a note for the ghost. With that strange thought in mind, I slid on my running shoes and began to jog down the stairs of the complex.

Despite the fact that I hadn't gone on a morning jog in months, maybe a couple years, I felt great while running. My muscles seemed to enjoy the fact that I was finally letting them stretch. One thing they don't tell you when you become an adult is that you are literally expected to sit in one place for hours without moving beyond going to the bathroom or your lunch break. Upon starting my job, I tried to go to the gym at least three times a week, but that became increasingly impossible with my workload. Now that I had been working from my house for about a month, I really didn't have an excuse to not be working out more often. I was going to have to fix that before I did end up having to go back to the office. Adulthood is a struggle.

After an hour, the sun was finally poking through, though gray stormclouds blocked out most of the light. My legs had finally decided to give up and start going numb as I hobbled back to my apartment building. Once inside, I looked at the stairs and the elevator, and begrudgingly opted to take the stairs, something that of which I regretted on the third floor. I almost couldn't feel anything below my waist.

When I made it back to my apartment, despite overdoing it on the first day and feeling like I wanted to die, I still didn't feel like I could fall back asleep. I was exhausted, but not tired, if that makes sense. Feeling starved, I dug through my groceries and found a bear claw. I decided to reward myself with that, setting it on the counter as I went to go change out of my sweaty clothes and into jeans and a t-shirt.

I came back in and opened the fridge, fishing out a juice box. When I shut the door, Arthur was standing on the other side, his arms crossed as he looked impatient. I jumped and almost dropped my juice box, tossing it around in the air as if it were hot. “Fucking  _ Christ _ . Do you have to scare me every day?” I asked, setting my juice box on the counter. 

Arthur looked at the juice on the counter. “Really, Alfred? Sesame Street juice boxes? You're 19.” he scoffed.

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. “You literally watched me buy them yesterday and didn't say shit. I like the flavor, okay?”

I half expected Arthur to roll his eyes or say something else sarcastic, but he cracked a smile and laughed, surprising me. It wasn't even a mocking laugh, it was a true laugh as if was a joke between friends. 

I felt a fist grab my heart. I was probably going to be the last person to hear him laugh ever.

I gave him a half smile and a nervous laugh and grabbed my juice box and bear claw, turning to go sit on the couch. Arthur followed suite. He sat right next to me and crossed one leg over the other in a very refined manner. 

There was silence for a while as I ate my food and practically swallowed my juice box in one swift motion. Unlike many other occasions, this silence didn't feel as awkward. It was more of a comfortable silence, one that I wouldn't mind having for hours. I feel like Arthur felt the same way, because he looked reluctant when he spoke up. “So, Alfred. What are your absurd plans for today?”

“Well,” I said, finishing chewing my bear claw and swallowing before continuing. “I thought we could go to Francis’s house-”

“I'd rather not.”

I was so surprised that Arthur interjected his opinion that I almost didn't stop talking until I processed what he said. I blinked, then turned to look at him. “What? Why? We already met him, and I'm sure it won't take like three hours this time to get to his house.”

Arthur sighed and turned away from me. “I would prefer to keep him as a last resort option. If you stick your nose in too much where it doesn't belong, all of your work up until then would have been for nothing.”

As I began to understand what he meant, I nodded, frustrated. “Okay, okay, that's out for now.” Then, when he turned back towards me, I asked, “It's your life, dude. What do you want to do? And nothing is not an acceptable answer. You aren't dying on me.”

He sighed. “Well, I have one, but I'm not sure how much help it would be.” he told me.

“What is it?” I urged him on. “Anything is better than what we have right now, dude. All we have is my shitty idea.”

“Do you remember what Lukas said to us before we left the bookstore?” He asked me, clasping his hands and placing them on his legs. 

I furrowed my brows as I tried to remember, hell, it was like two chapters ago, but all I could think of were his last words echoing painfully throughout my mind.

_ If you wake this person up, they may not remember any of what's happening right now, so if they don't already know you, they won't remember you. But I truly believe you’re the key in solving this. Is that what you really want, Alfred? To have all you’re doing be for not? _

I realized, after catching Arthur giving me a confused look, that I had yet to answer his question. “Ah, no dude, sorry.” I said with a laugh, snapping out of my daze.

Arthur looked like he was seriously trying to refrain from rolling his eyes. “He said my mind and body have to reconnect, that there's a reason they split.” he supplied.

“Yeah? I'm not sure where you're going with this. He already said stuffing you like a turkey wasn't going to work.” I reminded him.

Arthur grimaced. “I didn't need that mental picture.” he said. “But that's not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean?” I asked him, scooting a little closer. If he were tangible, our thighs would have brushed.

He glanced down at the closeness, then back up at me. “I think that maybe whatever was on my mind last might be why I split. If we can maybe connect that to my body now, we might reconnect.”

I fell back against the couch. “Man, how are we going to figure  _ that  _ out? What if your last thought was how much you wanted to go to Disneyland? I'm not sure I could smuggle you onto the plane.”

“I highly doubt the last thing I thought about was how much I wanted to go to Disneyworld.” he snorted.

“Disney _ land _ .” I corrected. “Anyways, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you have no clue what your last thoughts were.” He gave me a nod of confirmation. “So basically, we're searching for a needle in a haystack, only there's not actually a needle, just a really big haystack.” I concluded. 

“I suggest talking to my co-workers.” he said. “I might have said something about what I was doing. I can't imagine any of this happening if all I wanted to do was go home and sleep.”

“Didn't you say you were very private? Would you have really told them about your private life?” I asked him.

He hummed and crossed his arms, deep in thought. “Perhaps. It depended on who asked me.” he said. 

I sighed and stood up, stretching my back. “Well, it's the best we have right now. Should we head out?” 

Arthur stood up and nodded, smoothing out his pants. “Yes, we should.” he said, following me as I grabbed a jacket and my keys and slid out of the door.

Despite being outside earlier, the chilly breeze that hit me as we stepped outside surprised me. It was probably just because I was running and working up a sweat, but it really did feel colder than earlier. I rubbed my arms and exhaled down the collar of my shirt. “Kinda chilly, ain't it?” I laughed.

Arthur deadpanned. “Because I clearly would know.” he said with an eye roll. 

“Lucky son of a bitch.” I muttered under my breath. 

“Pardon?”

“Nothing!” I said, giving a stupid smile. I only saw the whites of his eyes at that point, which made me laugh. I didn't realize how stupid I looked laughing at myself until I looked up and saw Elizabeta walking towards us with a confused smile on her face.

“Alfred, right?” She said as we got closer.

“Oh and we’re stopping to talk.” I whispered mostly to myself. “Yep, the one and only!”

Then, like the idiot I am, I stared at her outfit. Rather than workout clothes, she was wearing a black button up with white polka dots, revealing a large part of her cleavage, and a white pencil skirt which hugged body quite nicely. She was hiding from the sun with big aviator sunglasses, and in her arms were a white fur coat and a white handbag. I didn't realize I was staring that long until I saw something whiz past me, which turned out to be Arthur's hand, which was waving in front of my head trying to break me from my trance. I blinked as she raised her eyebrows. She must have said something while I wasn’t listening.

“Hi, yes, I'm so glad I caught you. My car just died,” she said slowly, gesturing towards the parking garage. “And I'm gonna be late to work. I have jumper cables, can you help me out?” She asked, taking a step closer.

“I, um, y-yeah, sure, I'm going there anyway. My car, I mean. Not your car. To drive places. Drive my car. To the places. And… stuff.” I sputtered like an idiot. 

Beside me, Arthur snorted loudly, while in front of me, Elizabeta let out a happy sound and hugged me, something of which I didn't expect. I blinked as she pulled me in tight. She smelled like vanilla. However, despite being so close to such an attractive woman, I felt nothing. I was kind of surprised and disappointed that it didn't feel like something else. “Oh, thank you Alfred! I'd be so dead if you weren't here!” she chirped.

I escorted her to the parking garage, where her heels seemed to echo like my heartbeat. She went to unlock her car while I strode to mine, pretty much speed walking. Arthur opted to stay outside of the car and roll his eyes when I accidentally put my car in reverse and almost hit a pole when I finally had it in the right gear. I didn’t know what had me so nervous. It was probably just habit that I acted like a complete idiot when I was around someone of the opposite gender. I sighed and relaxed into the seat of my car when I finally pulled close enough to hers. 

It turned out that out of the three people standing there staring at the car, none of us actually knew how to jump it. I ended up having to Google it, and unfortunately had to read  _ How to Jump Start a Car for Dummies _ which made me feel like a big dummy. After many crossed fingers, curse words, electrical shocks, and prayers, her car finally started. 

“Thank God, Alfred! You’re a lifesaver!” She squealed, pulling me in for another hug.

“Haha, no problem! A hero is always there to help!” I said, winking and pointing finger guns. Arthur threw his head back as his eyes rolled to the back of his head while she giggled.

“I’ll remember that. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m seriously going to be late.” She said, and with a wave, she stepped back in her car and drove off. I exhaled deeply. Arthur gave me an annoyed looked from the side.

“Relaxed now that your girlfriend is gone?” He asked me.

“What?” I asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, dude. I don’t even like her. She’s literally just my neighbor.” I said, kind of offended. 

“Right.” He said, not entirely convinced. “Let’s just head to Saint Mary’s.”

The beginning of the ride there was quite awkward after the entire Elizabeta thing, but as we drove, I tossed out some light banter, making him lighten up. By the time we pulled into the parking lot, he was snorting at the bad jokes I was making.

We walked inside just as it started raining. Arthur was unaffected, but unfortunately for me, I actually had a body, so I had to dash inside to avoid the worst of it. As I was shaking myself off in the entrance, I noticed Arthur started to look uncomfortable again. “Dude, what’s up? You were like this last time, too.”

He shrugged, rubbing his arms. “I suppose it just happens when I get close to my body. Don’t think much of it.” He said, waving me off. 

As we walked through the second set of doors into the lobby, I glanced at him. “So, who exactly should I be looking for?” I asked him.

He closed his eyes as he thought. While he was thinking, I noticed that the receptionist from yesterday was there talking to somebody. They both glanced up at me as I walk past, and the blonde waved at me with a smile, looking far less annoyed today than yesterday. I gave an awkward smile and waved back, and the two girls giggled. I would never understand women.

“Hi! You're the guy who was in here yesterday to see Dr. K, right?” The blonde asked me, much more upbeat than before. It was actually kind of scaring me.

“Uh, yeah. And I'm gonna see him again. Is that okay?” I asked, feeling a little nervous. If she said no, I was literally going to do backflips.

She rested her chin on her hands and leaned in closer to me. “No no no! That's totally fine! You're welcome here whenever.” she said with a gross smile. The girl behind her giggled again. 

“Thanks. I'm gonna, you know, go now.” I said, pointing towards the hallway.

“Wait wait wait wait wait!” she cried, slapping the counter as I began walking away. I turned back. “You can't just leave without telling me your name!” she insisted.

“My name? It's Alfred. Alfred F. Jones.” I said, then I turned away and began walking away. 

“Wow, what a cool name!” I heard her whisper quite loudly to her co-worker.

“What, aren't you gonna give him your number?” Her co-worker asked. I seriously wondered if they were aware that I was still within hearing range.

“What? No! He won't call me back if I do it today. I have to wait until tomorrow, because then he'll be extremely sad that Dr. K is gone and will be more desperate for a female companion!” the blonde insisted, no longer whispering. 

“That's quite harsh.” Arthur said in an annoyed tone. “I wonder if she even realized how obnoxious she was being.”

“Haha, probably not.” I said. “So who am I looking for?”

“Don’t look for anyone.” He said after a moment. “It’s better if someone finds us, it will seem less suspicious. I’ll let you know if they’re worth your time, although I highly doubt it.” He said.

I nodded as I made my way down the bland white halls, observing the many rooms in the hospital. There were quarantined rooms, rooms that looked empty, and some had patients in them. Hospitals always gave me the heeby-jeebies. Arthur seemed relaxed, however, as if he was in his natural element, despite his face contorting in pain every now and then.

We passed plenty of tired doctors and bored looking nurses, but Arthur made no effort to point any of them out. I was starting to think this idea was a waste of our time until I saw a doctor I recognized. “Oh, sup Dr. Braginsky.”

Dr. Ivan Braginsky, who had been studying his papers dutifully, blinked and looked up at me, genuinely surprised to see me there. Arthur also seemed surprised, his eyes wide as he glanced between us. “You two know each other?” He asked, although I couldn’t answer.

“Oh, hello Alfred. Please, call me Ivan.” He said, extending his hand. I grasped it and shook it. “We know each other much better than this.”

I really wanted to explain things to Arthur, such as how I knew him, but I couldn’t while Ivan was standing right there. Arthur seemed a little too shocked for my comfort, however, as if me knowing Ivan was a bad thing. “Yeah, I know, it’s just, I haven’t seen you since the… Since… well, you know…” I said, unsure of how to phrase what I wanted to say in a sensitive manner.

“Since Natalia’s death.” He said rather bluntly. I glanced up, opened my mouth, then shut it and nodded. He gave me a smile, tilting his head to the side. “You don’t have to walk on eggshells around me, Alfred. It’s been almost half a year.”

I wanted to point out the fact that I was more wary for my own sake, but I held my tongue. “I was just making sure, dude. She was your sister and all.” I said.

His smile didn’t waver. “And she was your lover.”

I felt a palpable tension in the air. He continued to smile, while I tugged at the collar of my shirt. I didn't know if I should just walk away or not until Ivan broke the silence.

“So why are you here today, Alfred?” He asked me.

I cleared my throat. It was time to get answers. “I'm actually here to see a friend. Arthur Kirkland, do you know him?”

Ivan’s smile wavered.

“Oh, Dr. Kirkland? Yes, he was a beloved colleague. I weren't aware that you and he were acquaintances.” He said.

Arthur snorted. “I wouldn't exactly say beloved colleague.” he said. “In fact, i would go as far as to say we were each other's most hated colleagues.”

“Yeah. I've been, uh, away for a while.” Then, after a moment of consideration, I looked up. “Hey, no one's really told me why or how he got into that wreck. He was always really careful, wasn't he? Do you happen to know anything about it?”

Ivan pursed his lips. “He was needed to stay hours after his fourteen hour shift. There was an emergency surgery, and he was the most qualified doctor at the time.” Then, he glanced down the hallway towards Arthur’s door. “They seem think he was so tired that he fell asleep at the wheel. He swerved into the other lane, right into a large semi truck.”

“Do you happen to know where he was going?” I asked him, pressing further. 

I must have went too far, because at this point, Ivan was frowning. “Are you perhaps, interrogating me?” He asked with a disappointed tone. “It wasn't a homicide, Alfred. It was an accident. Nothing needs investigated. No one could have caused him to lose control.”

I froze, unsure of what to say, then I began to laugh awkwardly. Arthur and Ivan both stared at me, confused. “Nope! No way dude, just messing with you. Take it easy, bro.” I laughed, slapping his arm.

Ivan looked utterly confused, but nodded and began to walk off. “Yes, take care.” he said warily. 

When he rounded the corner, I let out a deep breath. “God damn, that was awkward.”

“You made it awkward.” Arthur informed me. “I didn't realize you were dating his sister.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I never even saw him that much, either. He scares the shit out of me.” I admitted. “Their dad died before she was born, so Ivan had to be her father figure. Very strict.” I explained.

Arthur huffed. “I will admit, he was a cold hearted asshole.” He scoffed. “Excellent doctor, but he could hardly care less about anyone besides himself.”

“Do you think he's hiding something?” I asked Arthur as we began walking back to his room. “He jumped straight to murder, and that's not where I was going at all. And what would I care? I'm practically just my boss's baby-sitter at an electronics company.”

“That sly devil? No doubt. You won't be able to pry it out of him, though.” He said. “At least, not easily.”

“Uhhg, I hate it when I can't just look up the answer.” I groaned. I truly wished the answer was as simple as searching through the first three o’s of Google.

“That's just lazy thinking, Alfred. We have plenty of time.” Arthur chided.

Yeah. If you thought 48 hours was plenty of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow that was way too long to wait for a chapter update and I am truly sorry. This is also a super uneventful chapter.
> 
> I dont really have a dedicated time to just sit down and right anymore because life is getting in the way atm. I ended up quitting my job a week ago and found a new one, which really upset me because I loved my old job, I just couldn't deal with my coworkers any longer. This transition is just really hard for me right now, so my creative juices were not flowing.
> 
> Anyway enough with my life, I hope you enjoy the update and me breaking the fourth wall. I'll try to have the next chapter up sooner and it will actually be decent.


	6. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred and Arthur realize there's more to this story than meets the eye.

When we entered his room, warm sunlight poured through the open window onto everything, basking the room in a warm golden light. I had to squint to prevent going blind at the sudden change in lighting. Was it this bright outside when we made our way here? “Haven't these people ever heard of closed curtains? Or at least shades? Or free sunglasses?” I asked, turning to Arthur. 

When I did, I was stunned. The gold reflecting off of him made him really look like a spirit, yet he never looked more alive than right then. The golden light made his blonde hair look like actual threads of golden silk. His emerald eyes, which I had always found to look cool to match his personality, were warm and shining. His skin, as pale as it was, looked like it was glowing. In one word, he looked beautiful, though I quickly shooed the thought from my mind. I must have been thinking of how much he looked like a painting then. That had to be it.

It was in stark contrast to his physical body, which was laying in the shade of the window and looked listless. His hair had no shimmer to it, and his eyes had deep dark circles under them, which were accentuated by the darkness. He looked hollow.

“I always liked the sun.” Arthur whispered, snapping me out of my daze. I completely forgot what I had said to him. 

“What?” I asked him as he began walking to the window. He fingered the glass as he stared at the rising sun with a distant look on his face.

“The sun.” he repeated quietly. “I always loved the light.” He stared out the window as I realized what on earth he meant. I let out a soft ‘ooh’ and let him stare at the brightening light.

After a few minutes, I cleared my throat to snap him out of his daze. He turned around and looked at me. “So, we haven't seen a single helpful person yet. What do you want to do now? Any ideas?” I asked him. 

This was all starting to seem hopeless. Our best bet was Francis, but Arthur had a point when he said agitating him this soon might be detrimental. Ivan clearly knew something, but for some reason he wouldn't tell me, insisting that it wasn't a homicide. I never said it was, so I wasn't quite sure why he was acting like that. It made him seem suspicious. Everything happened so long ago that we would be lucky if we  _ did _ find out why he crashed.

After a moment of consideration, Arthur sighed. “I haven't the slightest idea.” he sighed. “Now that we’re actually here, I’m not sure what or who exactly I was hoping to find. I just hope this isn’t a waste of our time.”

I pulled a chair up to his body lying in the bed and plopped down in it. It was too early in the morning to be mentally exhausted. “It won’t be a waste, Arthur. Anything is better than nothing. You’re trying, I know you are. We just need to clear our heads, maybe get a new start.” I suggested, though I myself had serious doubts. There had to be something we could do. I have the IQ of a freaking genius, why couldn't I just figure it out? 

I inhaled deeply, held my breath for a minute, then exhaled quickly. My hand gripped Arthur's arm gently, and his spirit body gripped where I was, but didn't turn around. I sighed, he sighed.

Then, he proceeded to scare the living shit out of me by screaming ‘Aha!’ and whipping around. I leaned back in my chair and almost toppled over. My eyes went wide, and I might have gripped his arm a little too hard. Arthur didn’t even seem to notice.

“Arthur, the fuck?!” I whispered in a hiss, afraid of anyone overhearing from outside. This would be awkward to explain.

“I think I may have remembered something that will help us.” He said, his eyes practically sparkling. I gripped my shirt where my heart was, panting from the sudden adrenaline rush. “My agenda book, we need to find that. I left accurate records of every appointment I had in that book, because I’m-”

“A scatter-brain.” I finished, finally putting together what he was saying. Arthur nodded enthusiastically. This was perfect. Our first actual lead. “Alright, so where is it?” I asked him.

His smile faltered. “Who knows?” He said honestly. “I always had an electronic version, which would be on my phone and computer-”

“Which would probably be safe with Francis.”

“-However, I did keep an actual book.” He stated. “I’m not sure if they would have taken it. Actually, I’m quite sure they didn’t.” He said, a smug smile slowly growing back on his face as he seemed to remember more and more about this dastardly book. 

I raised an eyebrow, a single eyebrow, a talent I was super proud of. “Oh? How do you know that? It probably got packed away with the rest of your stuff. You’d be surprised how efficiently they cleared that entire place out.”

His smirk didn’t waver. “Do you remember when we went up to the roof?” He asked me.

“Uh… yeah? I’m like, fourteen percent sure I didn’t see a book up there. The rain would have ruined it anyway.” I said, not sure where he was going with this. 

He rolled his eyes. “No, not  _ on _ the roof. git. Do you remember how I said I had privacy issues?”

It finally clicked. “ _ Ooh! _ The bench!” I said, feeling like slapping myself. I remembered seeing a bunch of weird crap in there, including a pile of books. If it were still in my apartment, it would be in there. We both got smiles on our faces. This was the first actual thing that might help us.

Arthur nodded. “I was constantly worried someone would go through my cellular and find out all about my personal life. I know, I was overly paranoid, but that’s just how my life worked. Works.” he corrected himself. “I kept a paper copy in case I had to delete the one on my phone, or I was unable to access electronics.”

“Isn’t maintaining both a little excessive?” I asked him. I knew I was too lazy to even maintain one, let alone two platforms.

“I liked to have the digital copy for work and the paper copy for when I was home.” He explained.

“Can’t we just sign into your account on my phone? Or do you not remember your information?” I said. I didn’t really want to have to go all the way  _ back _ to my apartment. Gas was fucking expensive and I was already almost down to half a tank. 

“I have my account set to lock automatically if it’s signed onto by another device. It would be much easier to just go find the book.” He said. 

I groaned. “We literally just got here, though. Isn’t there anything we can figure out here so we don’t have to come back?”

Arthur pursed his lips. “I mean, I could wander around a little bit. I can go places that you can’t and listen to private conversations.” He pointed out.

“Yeah, go do that.” I said, shooing him away. “I really don’t want to have to come back here again today if we can help it.” 

He shot me a glare. “Alright, alright, sheesh. Calm down.” He said as he exited through the closed door. 

I let out a deep sighed and turned around towards the window, where the sun had risen slightly in the sky. The streets of New York were bustling with people, most on their cell phones. It was kind of sad that the world had become so absorbed in technology, but at the same time, it was kind of incredible that technology had as advanced as fast as it had. There were so many amazing things about this world that I couldn’t imagine not being in it. 

I walked closer to the window and leaned forward on the window sill where there were no pictures and rested my head heavily in my hand. This past year had really reminded me just how miraculous life really was. I never would have thought I would have just blown through my schooling like I did. Most people didn’t believe it was possible, and thought I was exaggerating when I told them about it. I admit, it seemed like something made up from an extremely uncreative person who was garbage at writing, but it really was my life. I always regretted finishing school as early as I did, because I now look back and realize that I never really got to embrace the experience. However, even if I could go back, I’m not sure I would change much about my life, because I was a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. 

And, when Natalia died, it made me see for the first time how fragile life is, and how short it was. I hadn’t really experienced a death of a person I was close to until then. After her  death, I felt like I was seeing the world in slow motion. It was like I was submerged in water. Moving felt like a chore. My senses felt numbed. Life itself was becoming too much to bear.

I think I really did need Arthur’s sudden appearance in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m excited he was in a near fatal car accident. It’s just, this was the first time in months I felt like life was moving fast again, which I had been craving for a while. Also, just the situation itself seemed like something I needed. I had lost one person very near and dear to me. This felt like God giving me a chance to not be as helpless as I was then. I had an actual chance to bring Arthur back to life. People didn’t deserve to die young. They deserved to live a wonderful and happy life as long as possible. That was selfish thinking, I know, but I always wished the world could be a perfect place.

The chances were slim, but the fact that I had a chance to save someone, to let them continue in their life, to see how our amazing world progressed, that is what made me feel the most hopeful I had in perhaps years. 

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn’t hear anyone come into the room until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I screamed a little bit, jumping back and knocking a pile of cards onto the floor. I knew it was impossible, but I thought it was Arthur who had touched me. It was actually somewhat of a relief when I saw Francis standing there, despite the shocked look on his face and the fact that I was supposed to be avoiding him like the plague. “Shit - sorry, dude. I didn’t hear you come in.”

Francis blinked, then laughed, leaning on the window sill as well. “It’s okay. You looked seriously deep in thought. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you.” Then, as I resituated myself, he gave me a sideways glance. “I’m honestly surprised to see you here again. I didn’t think you’d come two days in a row. Not many people did.” He said with a sad tone. I felt a pang of guilt, although I’m not sure why I felt guilty.

“Me and Arthur, we were pretty close.” I said, picking up the toppled card and hoping he wouldn’t press further. I wasn’t that lucky.

“I never heard him mention your name before.” He stated bluntly.

I froze, wondering what I would say. Had Arthur been standing here, he could have fed me the perfect lie. I, however, was not so good at coming up with lies on the spot. That particular talent was used up in my three siblings. 

I was about to sputter out some nonsense when Francis let out a small, breathy laugh. “He didn’t discuss his private life a lot though, not even to me. It doesn’t surprise me that he never mentioned you.”

I sighed internally, thanking Arthur for his antisocialness finally paying in. It was time to change the subject. “So, aren’t Tino and Peter with you?” I asked.

Francis shook his head, his blonde hair spinning off his shoulders. “No, Peter can’t miss too much school, he’s missed a lot recently. Tino and Berwald are going to bring him after school to make it a little bit easier on them.” He answered.

I nodded in understanding, then glanced back out the window, not sure if I should continue a conversation. I really should not be talking to him right now, in fear that I’d reveal something important. But I had to wait for Arthur to finish whatever he was doing snooping around the hospital. Despite waking up recently, I really needed a nap and maybe a cookie.

Francis turned away and sat in the chair I had been in previously, and when I looked over at him, he had a tired look on his face. “I wish we didn’t have to do this.”

I almost asked what he was doing, but thankfully realized what he meant before I could spit the words out. “You guys could wait a little longer, couldn’t you?” I asked him.

His lips were pursed into a tight line. “In all honesty, Alfred, we should never have put him on life support. He has told me several times how if he were to ever end up in this state, he would rather die than be kept alive by a machine. Even the other doctors tried to talk us out of it, insisted even. But, selfishly, we had them hook him up.”

“I think you did the right thing.” I blurted out. Francis raised both of his eyebrows as he looked at me, expecting an explanation. I swallowed and tugged on the collar of my shirt. “I, uh, mean, maybe he had such a strong opinion because he had never experienced this situation before. I bet he’s glad you guys gave him a chance. And I’m sure he understands why you’re doing everything you are. It’s not selfish to want someone to live.”

Francis closed his eyes. “I’m sure Arthur wouldn’t have cared one way or another if he died or not. I would have just been another thing to happen to him.” He said. “He was dead set on his opinions. You couldn’t get him to budge for the world. He knew what he wanted, and there was nothing anyone else could do about it.”

“But you can’t recognize the true value of life until one is lost.” I said in his defense, trying to word everything he’s told me together in a way that didn’t sound creepy. “Sometimes, people don’t realize they want to live until it’s too late.”

Francis stared at Arthur, taking in what I was saying to him. “Too bad he probably can’t think these things anymore.” He said. “Besides, people died around him every day. To him, death was just another thing that happened.”

If only he knew. It was killing me that I couldn’t tell everyone that I was talking to Arthur, but if I did, not only would I be a public outcast, Arthur would certainly die. I wanted to stand on rooftops and scream that he was still alive, hoping that someone would hear me, but there would have been no point.

Francis glanced back up at me, squinting his eyes while examining me. I felt kind of uncomfortable, unsure of what he was thinking. “Is uh, something wrong?” I asked him.

He groaned, rubbing his temples with his thumb and middle finger. “I have to know you from somewhere. I feel like someone else told me exactly that. Are you sure we’ve never met?”

I shrugged. “I mean, you kind of do look vaguely familiar, but I’m pretty sure we never did. Maybe you were a customer of the company I work for.” I suggested. 

He frowned. “I don’t think so, but it’s not impossible. This is irritating me, it’s on the tip of my tongue.” He sighed, shaking his head, probably thinking he was crazy. It bugged me a little bit too, but not to the extent it was bothering him. 

I turned back to face the window, not wanting to converse with him much longer, and began admiring the pictures. I picked one up and looked at it closer. It was a picture of Arthur sitting in a recliner, thought he was sitting on the edge of the seat. He was leaned forward, examining the chess set in front of him. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and one of his hands was on a chess piece. Across from him was Peter, though he looked much younger, with a frustrated look on his face. Arthur was probably beating him, irritating the young child. I let out a breath as a laugh. 

I heard my name being called, but didn’t register it until it was shouted. I turned around, thinking it was Francis, but he was absorbed in staring at the beeps of the machine Arthur was hooked up to. I turned towards the door to see it was Arthur, his body half way through the door. “Come on, I’m done.” He said, gesturing for me to leave. 

I adjusted my jacket and began walking towards the door. “I’m gonna head out now. Will you be here later?” I asked Francis.

Francis snapped out of his daze and looked at me. “Ah, it depends. I might come back when Peter and his parents come by.” He said. 

I nodded and waved, exiting the room. Arthur was standing there with a pained look on his face. I knit my eyebrow together. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain again?”

He shook his head. He kind of looked like he was going to puke, if he could. “No, it’s not that. It’s what I found out.”

My eyebrows raised. “Really? What was it?” I asked. 

He frowned. “I don’t want to discuss it here. Can we just, go home?” He asked. He looked really shaken up. 

I nodded. “Uh, yeah, sure, let’s go.” I said, and we began walking down the hall. On our way out, we passed the blonde nurse, who looked irritated again until she glanced up and saw me. She smiled and waved, and I gave her a nervous wave back. 

We got back in my car and began driving home again. The ride back was dead silent aside from the hum of the engine. I didn’t remember muting the radio, but it wasn’t making a sound. Arthur seriously looked bad, which wasn’t helping the atmosphere. I wasn’t sure what he found, but I wasn’t looking forward to finding out.

We pulled into the parking garage and quietly made our way back to the apartment. I passed a few neighbors and waved politely, though most just stared at me as if I was crazy. I glared at them and kept walking.

I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, so once we went through the sliding doors, I strode over to the elevator and pressed the up button several times, waiting for it to open. Arthur gave me an unamused stare. “Pressing it spastically won’t get it down any sooner.”

“Psh, please. Everyone knows it to be fact.” I said, pressing it a few more times for good measure. “If you press it once it takes forever. That’s why you gotta press it like, a bunch of times.”

“Hard to argue with that logic.” He scoffed, crossing his arms.

“Right?” I said with a stupid grin. He rolled his eyes, but his grim look was finally replaced with the slightest hint of a smile. His smile always felt nice. 

We got inside, and he mocked how I had to hit the close buttons on the elevators because I was too impatient to wait for them to close on their own. I just laughed him off the entire way up. Once the doors open, we made our way back to my apartment.

I pulled my phone out of my apartment to check what time it was. It was a little later than I expected, I guess we had almost spent an hour there despite our lack of information, but that’s not what caught my attention. I saw four text messages from my brother, which made me want to roll my eyes. I unlocked my phone and read through them, then immediately sighed. The gist of it was that he was worried at my suddenly strange behavior and wanted me to talk to him about it. I loved my brother, but I was never one for telling people all of my emotional crap. Arthur had been a strange exception. Hell, he  _ is _ a strange exception in my life.

I replied to him that I would call him later, though in reality I probably wouldn’t, then twisted the handle of my door. The only problem, obviously, was that the handle didn’t move. The door was locked. I fished in my pocket for the key, but then realized something. I only had my car keys on me. My house key was probably still sitting in the bowl next to my door. “God, I’m such an idiot.” I groaned, beating my head on the door.

Arthur smirked. “Lock yourself out?” He asked in a snarky manner.

I shot him a sideways glare, pausing from bashing my head on the wood. “Yeah, shut up. I’m going to have to call the building manager, and heaven knows he wouldn’t move quickly if he was on fire.” I groaned.

“Check under the fire extinguisher.” He suggested. 

I gave him a look, but I walked over regardless. I lifted the cold red cylinder, unsure of where he was going with this. Was I supposed to beat the door down with it? But when I saw a key with a little green tag attached to it, I realized what he meant. I turned to him and grinned. “Thank God for scatter-brains.” I said, gripping the key.

“Yes, yes, just remember to put it back, or there’s no point of having it there.” Arthur nagged at me. I rolled my eyes as I twisted the key in the lock, but I did go back and shove the key back under the extinguisher. 

Once inside my apartment, I kicked off my shoes and tossed my jacket on the back of my couch, far beyond the point of caring where my stuff was at this point. I went straight to the bench and removed the lid again, looking inside. There was the small box that the key to the roof was in, several other small ornate boxes, and a pile of ratty looking books. I pulled out the stack of books, hoping the one we wanted was there.

The books that were there didn’t seem to make sense as to why he would keep them hidden. There were one or two cooking books, which confused me as to why they wouldn’t be in the kitchen, a journal that looked like it had been through hell and back with his name in clear cursive script, though it looked like it was smudging off, and a stack of textbooks. I didn’t see what looked like a planner until I glanced back in the seat to see another book laying there with the word ‘agenda’ printed on the front in big, bold letters. I held it up for him and he nodded.

I replaced the books and the cover to the seat and sat down, beginning to thumb through it. Arthur sat next to me, looking uncomfortable as someone went through his personal belongings. As he had said, he had his entire life clearly organized onto those pages. Every shift he ever worked, every time he was to meet with Francis or someone else to get coffee or lunch, hell, even every time he had to go to the store. I whistled in admiration. “Damn, I’ve seen historical records less detailed than this.”

“Oh, be quiet.” He hissed, though I could see his face getting red. 

“No like, this is actually really cool. I need something like this.” I admitted to him. “But, if you had it all on your phone, why even keep a hard copy, or vice versa? And why shove it away?” I asked him as I tried to find the most recent entries. “I know you said you liked having access to both, but that had to be too much effort.”

“I’m not exactly a fan of technology.” He explained. “I’m much more of a pencil and paper kind of man. I mainly kept my work schedule on my phone so I could check it if I was in a hurry, though my damned phone never worked half of the time anyway.” He grunted in anger. “Personal events are mostly in this book.”

As I flipped to June, I saw where the days became less littered with his atrocious writing. “Okay, dude, the end of June is where it looks like you stopped writing. Do you have any idea what day the accident was?” I asked him, trying to see if anything jumped out at me. 

“Can I see the dates? I know it was a Friday…” He said, examining the book as I flipped through the weeks. Towards the end of June, he stopped me. “Yes, the 24th. It had to be that day.” 

I glanced at my phone to see the date. It was the 12th of October. “Wow, it’s been almost four months then.” I mused out loud.

He hummed as he read the words he wrote. “Let’s see… my shift was ten to twelve-”

“Dude, that’s it? I thought doctors worked super crazy shifts-”

“Ten pm to twelve pm.” He stated with a sigh.

“Holy shit, that’s fourteen hours!” I exclaimed. 

Arthur laughed. “That’s nothing. Anyway, I ended up staying another full shift after that. It’s not like your nine to five job.” he remarked. “It looks like I did have something scheduled for later that night, however. Six pm. Central Park.”

“That’s not very specific. Do you know why you were supposed to go there?” I asked. I felt like there was a piece we weren’t putting together, like I recalled something and it was flickering in the back of my mind, but the light was too dull. 

“Perhaps I was meeting with someone?” He questioned himself. “It’s a rather weird place to meet an acquaintance. I would think we’d meet at a restaurant or something.”

“Maybe you were meeting in a general location for your prostitution-”

“ _ I am not a slut, Alfred! _ ” Arthur insisted quite harshly. 

I started laughing like an idiot. I’m so glad he couldn’t actually hit me, or I’m sure I’d have bruises all over me. “I’m joking, I’m joking Artie!” I laughed. It took me a minute to compose myself, and when I did, I took a deep breath before continuing. “So who  _ do _ you think you were meeting there?” I asked him.

Arthur frowned. “I don’t know, but that’s not important right now.” He said. “It’s about what I heard in the hospital.”

I got a little more serious after that. After how shaken up he looked, I knew it had to be bad. “So… what was it?” I asked him, though I still wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. A wide array of possibilities flew through my mind, but none of them sounded too pleasant. I supposed it couldn’t get much worse than death, but that’s where I was so naive. The world isn’t a happy place. 

“I found a man I didn’t recognize on the phone. He was wearing a doctor’s uniform, so I’m sure he is a new doctor hired after my accident. I’m not sure who he was on the phone with, but I knew he was talking about me.” He paused, took a deep breath through his mouth, then released it slowly though his nose. “He mentioned my name, and then started talking about Friday. I didn’t think much of it until the conversation started to turn… dark. He said I should have died months ago, and how my family was slowing the process. He said they were ruining the plan.”

“The plan?” I questioned, not sure how to take what he was saying.

Arthur closed his eyes. Then, he opened them and stared at me. His emerald eyes shined with uncertainty, sadness, confusion, and worst of all, pain. “I think my ‘accident’ was a little less accidental than everyone thought.”

My eyes widened. “What?” I gasped, unable to fathom that. “B-but, it was a car crash. You can’t plan that.”

“You would be surprised how well people can plan.” As he was finishing his sentence, my phone began ringing. I glanced down to see my boss’s face plastered all over the screen of my phone. Arthur gave me a sad smile. “You should answer that.”

I nodded and got up, pressing the green answer button. My boss began telling me things I could honestly care less about, as well as a new project he wanted me to work on. I gave him the brief ‘yes sir’s that he wanted, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what Arthur just told me. 

Arthur’s accident was preplanned. And we both knew who was behind it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I just want to say, I can't believe no one pointed this out to me, but it was Tuesday 2 days in a row. The first chapter started out on a Tuesday, and then when he wakes up, it's Tuesday again. Like, congrats Alfred, you can time travel. You can travel back in time and save Arthur whenever you're ready. Anyways, it's been fixed, so the current day is now Wednesday and it starts out on a Monday.
> 
> Second off, I don't know what took this so long to write. I actually wrote the vast majority of it at like 3 am. I'm pretty sure what took so long is that I got addicted to 13 Reasons Why and Miraculous Ladybug for a while. I know, I'm a nerd. And, I also quit my new job, so I'm currently looking for another one. But eh, life sucks.
> 
> Third off, for such an uneventful chapter, it sure is long. Don't get me wrong, it's important, especially the end, but it's almost 5000 words exactly. I'm pretty sure this makes it the second longest chapter. 
> 
> Anywho, I hope you enjoyed, and stay until the end to find out what happens! <3


	7. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred reaches his breaking point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW REALLY GREAT JOB ME MAKE THEM WAIT FOR LIKE ALMOST 3 MONTHS THEN UPLOAD THIS SHORT CRAPPY CHAPTER KUDOS TO YOU (pun unintended but appreciated)
> 
> If you do like this and do want to continue seeing updates, please let me know. It means the world to me when I see I get a message from you guys. I was really discouraged at first, but when I kept seeing the messages, I get motivated to finish it sooner. And to whoever I lied to last week and said I'd finish this by the end of the week, I apologize lmao... Anyway, enjoy the crap show...

The ticking of the clock on the wall was mocking me.  _ You can't make it. You won't make it. _ The sound of my fingers hitting keys on the keyboard was mocking me.  _ He's going to die. It's all you're fault. _

I heard my phone continue to buzz and ended up shutting it off and sliding it down the counter. There were so many sounds, it was overwhelming. I couldn’t even focus on what I was working on. I was typing words and looking at reference documents, but I felt like I was simply putting words down to have them on the page. Words blended together, sounds merged into a painful buzz. It was an overload. Before I knew it, the pages were filled with a mess of misspelled words. I sighed. Whatever would get my boss off my back for a little bit, I suppose.

I couldn’t even strike up a conversation with Arthur. Every time I tried to say something to him, he interrupted me with ‘focus on your work’ and crap like that. It’s not like I was avoiding it, I was clearly doing it. It was just, his seemingly lack of caring about himself was bothering me. 

After assembling the work I had done into a great shit show of PDFs and such, I sent it to those who would also be involved in the project, informing them all that this was an extremely rough draft that I would revise later, I shut my computer. Arthur looked up from staring at the cover of a magazine on my coffee table that he couldn’t open with a mostly bored look. “Are you taking a break?” He asked me.

I shook my head. “Nah, I finished. Now c’mon, let’s go.” I said, looking around for my coat. 

Arthur blinked. “Go - wait, what? Alfred, where exactly do you plan on going? The hospital is not going to work.” He demanded, standing up and taking long strides to meet me. “And I know there’s no way you finished your work. It’s hardly been more than an hour.”

I shrugged, sliding my jacket on and walking away from him towards the door. “Dunno. We’ll think of something. And I did too finish my work. Now just shut up and trust me.” I said, ripping the door open. Behind it, much to my surprise, was Gilbert, his hand up as if he was just about to knock. We both has the same look on our face, neither expecting the other.

“Gil?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I um… Matthew sent me… who were you talking to?” He asked me, peering over my shoulder. When he saw no one inside, he grew even more confused. 

“No one. What the hell does Matthew want?” I asked, trying to change the subject. Arthur stood next to me with a red face, probably still sensitive about his invisibility issue.

Gilbert furrowed his brows. “No, no, you were talking to somebody. I heard you. You told them to trust you. Seriously, Alfred. We’re worried about you. Talk to us. Is someone inside?” 

“I am not talking to you.” I frowned. “There’s nothing wrong, stop letting Mattie worry unnecessarily. Now, are we done here? I have places to be.” I snapped. “ _ Alone _ .”

“I’m not kidding, Alfred.” Gilbert said seriously. “You’ve been acting really weird lately. Matthew said he’s been trying to call you all day. Even your sister tried calling you. I think it’s about time you filled us in.”

“Gil, listen.” I sighed, running my hand through my hair in annoyance. “I really don’t have the time for this.” I went to duck past him and out the door, but he slammed his hand on the door frame. I raised my eyebrows and looked from his hand to his eyes. “Gil?”

Gilbert had a dark look on his face. “I don’t think so, Al. I think it's about time that you sat down and talked to me and your brother. At least, talk to him.”

“Gilbert!” I hissed. “I am as old Matthew, do not treat me like a child.” I demanded.

“You know I trust you, I really do. And, you're like, one of my best friends. But after what happened a couple months ago, I just have to be sure. Please, Alfred.” he pleaded. “Not for your brother, just for me, as a friend.”

Arthur stood close to me and nodded, a dismal look on his face. I couldn't imagine what he was feeling right now; probably guilt for making me look like I'm crazy. I wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but even if Gilbert hadn't been here, I don't think I would be able to. I honestly  _ felt _ crazy. I don't know why I just accepted the fact so naturally. Gilbert and Matthew had a right to be concerned, especially after how I acted when Natalia died. 

I couldn't form what I was feeling into words. No matter what I would try to say, it wouldn't articulate just what I really felt. I was feeling confused, yet I felt like I knew everything. I was feeling tired, yet I never felt more awake. I was feeling sad, but I had no reason to. Did I? I sighed. 

“Fine, whatever, Gilbert. I'll talk. I can't guarantee it's gonna be what you want to hear, however “ I mumbled. “But seriously, I'm busy. This needs to be quick.”

“Thanks, Al. I'll go call Mattie right now and ask him to come over as soon as he possibly can.” He said, slipping past me and walking towards the hallway.

I won't lie, I thought about just running out the door and leaving, but not only was I sure Gilbert would be able to catch up to me, but I wanted to get all of this cleared up before it was too late. Tomorrow was the last full day; Arthur’s plug was being pulled on Friday morning.

“What are we going to do, when I'm done dealing with this shit?” I whispered to Arthur.

He shrugged. “I still don't think the hospital is a good idea. Ivan will get suspicious. Maybe it's time we talked to Francis.” he suggested.

“And tell him what? Those two actually might believe me because they know me. To Francis, I’m just some random stranger who claims to be best buds with you.” I pointed out. “And for some reason, he claims he knows me, though he won't tell me how. I mean, he says he doesn't know, but it still bugs me.”

“Then, maybe we’ll just have to convince him.” Arthur said. “I could tell you something only he and I would know, and that would have to convince him.”

“Yeah, convince him that I’m nothing but a creepy stalker.” I huffed. 

“If things don’t happen to work out, then so be it.” Arthur sighed. “You know how I feel about this.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, fuck no. I’m not going to tell the whole world I’m crazy just for you to give up on us. You’re stuck with me until I bring you back to life.”

“Or until I die.” He said matter-of-factly. 

“Would you just give it up?” I demanded, exasperated. Arthur rolled his eyes and walked away from me, disappearing down the hall. “I'm going to go eavesdrop.”

I waved to him and walked over to the counter where I had been working previously and reached for my phone. I figured it was about time I turned it on, or face the wrath of my entire family. It took a couple of seconds, but when my phone finally did turn on, I nearly dropped it because it started ringing right away. The caller ID read Anastasia. I groaned as I picked it up.

“ _ It’s about damn time you picked up the phone, Alfred! _ ” She chided me. “ _ I have been trying to call you for an hour now! After what happened yesterday, I think it’s about time we talked about this! _ ”

“Annie, listen, I really was gonna call you. My phone’s been off all morning. It uh, died.” I explained to her. “I’ve been, um, really swamped in work. But for real, can we postpone this until like, Friday?” I asked her.

“ _ Until  _ Friday _?! _ ” She demanded, completely outraged. “ _ What the frick-frack snick-snack do you mean postpone this until Friday? We need to get this finalized now, Alfred! Your lease renews on Friday! _ ” She reminded me. “ _ If this isn't done by tomorrow night, you might lose it!” _

I swore under my breath. Of course it did. Why wouldn’t it? I always forgot that it was in the middle of the month because that’s when I got paid the first time. “I completely forgot. Like I said, I’ve been super busy. I uh, I’ve actually been thinking about getting a new place.” I told her. If I was going to save Arthur, that meant I was going to have to give this place up. We hadn’t discussed it, but Arthur and I both knew this.

There was a solid minute of silence, and I had thought she’d hung up until I heard her take a deep breath. “ _ I don’t even want to know. I really don’t. If you want to switch apartments after all the hard work we did, that’s fine by me. But, for the love of God, remember how much this one meant to you. It was the only one that you said resonated with you. You said it felt like you were meant to live there. If you want to give up your dream apartment, I’m not stopping you. I get paid either way. I just want you to seriously think about this, Alfred. _ ”

“Thank you, Annie. You’re really the best. I’ll call you tomorrow night with my final decision, I promise.” I told her. It's not like I was lying. If Arthur wasn't saved by tomorrow night, there would be no saving him.

She sounded completely exhausted by the short conversation, but accepted it and hung up. I sighed and stretched my arms and shoulders before seeing what else had popped up on my phone within the hour. Seeing all the notifications I had seriously offended me; when I wasn’t doing anything, no one tried contacting me. The second I’m either busy or shut my phone off, everyone and their mother tries calling me.

I had four missed calls from four different unknown numbers, twenty three missed calls from Mattie (Jesus fucking Christ), one missed call from my sister Amelia, four voicemails, and forty six unread text messages. I rolled my eyes.

I listened to the voicemails first. The first three were a range of Matthew threatening me, worrying about me, and nagging me. The last one was from my sister, whom I hadn’t heard from since Natalia’s death. “ _ Hey Alfred. It’s uh, me, your sister. But you uh, probably know that. I was just calling to check in on you. You really need to call Matt back, by the way. He’s freaking out because he can’t get ahold of you, and he keeps saying that you must be dead or something. I’m sure you’re fine, though. He honestly nags you worse than mom. _ ” I laughed at her comment, knowing for a fact it was true. She also let out a small breathy laugh. “ _ Anyway, don’t feel the need to call me back if you don’t want to, but at least text me, okay? I haven’t talked to you in a while and I miss you. Ever since you and Matt went out of state, me and Maddie have been lonely. Come visit soon, okay? Geez, I’m going to get cut off by the damn machine. I love you, baby brother! _ ” She ended it with a gross kissing sound that got partially cut of by the machine. Despite the grossness, I saved the message into my phone with a smile.

Reading through the forty six text messages quickly turned my food sour. The gist of the messages were him repeating my name and him threatening me to answer my damn phone. I loved my twin to death, but for God’s sake, he annoyed the crap out of me. I tossed my phone on the couch.

Gilbert came back in followed by Arthur, who had a bright red face. I raised an eyebrow, but I wasn’t able to ask him about it because of Gilbert. “So what did you guys talk about?” I asked him.

“He’s not happy, but he’s calmed down a lot. He said he'll be able to stop by at five when he gets off work.” he explained.

“ _ Five?! _ ” I said in disbelief. “Gilbert, I'm busy. I don't  _ have time _ to wait around until  _ five _ . Believe it or not, I'm  _ busy _ .”

“Alfred-”

“No, I don't care. I'll be back at five. Stay here, don't stay here, I don't care.” I said. My chest felt like it was tightening. My hands were shaking. I felt sweat roll down my forehead, even though it was rather cold in my apartment. My breaths were getting shallower and shallower. I couldn’t feel my fingers. What the hell was this? I wasn’t sure, and I was scared. I just knew I had to get out of there, and fast. 

“Alfred-”

“Goodbye, Gil.”

Before he could shout my name again, I grabbed my coat and walked out, slamming the door. Arthur followed me, of course, though he seemed upset. 

“Alfred, will you please calm down?” He asked me as I practically punched the button for the elevator. “You didn’t even bring your phone. You need to go back.”

I didn’t respond to him. I pushed past the doors of the elevator before they had fully opened and repeatedly jammed my finger into the close button. My head was spinning. Arthur was still talking next to me, but I wasn’t sure what he was saying. It was all starting to blur together. As soon as the elevator doors shut, I slid down and collapsed onto the floor. Arthur looked shocked. “Alfred?”

“Oooooh God.” I mumbled, gripping my hair and holding my head in my hands. “I can’t breathe. That’s not normal, right? I can’t breathe.”

Arthur squatted down in front of me with a look of concern. “I think you’re having a panic attack.”  He said. “Take deep breaths, Alfred.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to take deep breaths if I - Oh my God, this is a heart attack, isn’t it? I’m gonna die. I can’t die in an elevator, I ju-”

“You are not having a heart attack, Alfred. Stop talking and just breathe.” He said, demonstrating how I should breathe. I started copying him, and he nodded. “Yes, like that. Deep breaths through the nose, then let them out through your mouth. You’re okay, Alfred.”

The elevator stopped and began opening, which made me start breathing quickly again. Arthur glared, then sighed and tried to give me his kindest look. “Alfred, please. Deep breaths. Breathe in until your lungs are full. Listen to my voice. Only focus on my voice. Listen to the sound of it, and ignore the sounds around us.” He said as the doors behind him closed, leaving us alone for the time being. “Nothing will hurt you, Alfred. You don’t have to do everything alone. Rely on others once in awhile, okay?”

I took a shaky breath, then closed my eyes. “Stop nagging me.” I muttered. 

Arthur sighed. “Brat.” Then, as I stood up, he looked away. “Please take better care of yourself.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened there.” I admitted. “One second I was fine and the next I was like that.”

“You were triggered.” He explained as I hit the button to open the door. “Though you may realize it or not, memories of your fiancee’s death and my own impending death are currently colliding in your brain, and the added stress from work and your brother are making you susceptible to short outbursts like that. We saw it all the time at the hospital. Thank heavens that only seemed to be a mild one.” 

“That explains why you knew what to do.” I said.

“Don’t just expect to be a-ok right now.” He warned. “Go get something to eat. When was the last time you ate, anyway?”

I thought back to my day as my stomach growled loudly for the first time. “Uh, I think it was the bear claw. I might have ate something when I got home, though. I can’t remember.”

“Well, whatever. Go somewhere and get something to eat and sit down for a while. You’ve been running around like a madman for the past few days.” Arthur insisted.

I rolled my eyes but silently agreed to his plan. I was starting to feel better until he just had to make another comment.

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere anyways.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear to God I was working on this, and I had so much free time during the summer after quitting my job that I should have had like 4 more chapters up, maybe even finished this. But NOPE I procrastinated hardcore, and I'm sorry. Hopefully soon I'll find more time. I started school again and my schedule is MUCH less packed, and my work situation finally calmed down. I did end up getting another job that I plan on keeping (yay me for not being useless to society) and despite all this stuff starting up, I really do feel like I will be able to upload more. I just need some motivation yo... Maybe I'll rewatch Just Like Heaven or go read USUK ff... I don't know. 
> 
> Anyway, I really do feel like I needed to include this, even if this chapter seemed all over the place and maybe unnecessary. Alfred is a human. I wanted to make him snap because even our heros will fall. Alfred is an overworked precious baby and I needed his stress to catch up to him. In the next chapter, they're going to finally confront Francis (after getting lunch), and that means that there's not many chapters left guys D: But finally, within these last chapters, we will find all of our answers. Make sure you subscribe to either me or the work to be notified about updated chapters!!!
> 
> See you in the next chapter (which will be up sooner than next year)!


	8. VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred exhausts all his options

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What what what? I have a chapter update and it hasn't been 3 months? C R A Z Y right?
> 
> I was sitting in the bathtub thinking I really need go work on this, and it just rolled. I think I'm going to opt for shorter 2-3000 word chapters because I can get those out a lot faster, but we all know I'm a big liar.

“So what am I supposed to say to convince Francis that I’m not crazy and that I actually know you?” I asked Arthur from behind the steering wheel as we raced down the street. After an hour and a half of eating lunch at Panera, we had begun searching again. I had calmed down significantly, though what we were going to do next might set me off again. 

“I’m thinking. He lives a very open life, he’s the opposite of me. I’m pretty sure half of New York knows who he’s slept with.” Then, turning to me, he narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps you're one of them?”

“What?!” I demanded, almost swerving the car. After straightening out again and receiving a multitude of honks, I relaxed into my seat, thankful to be alive despite my fuming. What a way to go out; just like the man I was trying to save. “I'm sorry, Artie, but Francis is like 50 years older than I am. I wouldn't have slept with him despite how drunk I was.”

“Excuse you, you twat! I'm hardly younger than he is! Mind your manners! And you keep insisting that he knows you, it wasn't that long of a shot given what I know about him.” he scoffed while I rolled my eyes.

“But dude, I'm not the slutty nurse prostitute here.” I reminded him with a smirk.

“Would you give it a rest! Now hush up, I'm trying to concentrate.” he hissed.

“Whatever.” I mumbled, though I did shut up. However, I have the attention span of a peanut and immediately forgot that I was supposed to stay quiet. “Wanna hit up Starbucks?” I asked him.

He turned to me with a deadpan look, clearly annoyed with me. “What, so that a drink can sit in your passenger seat and be wasted?”

“Look dude, I'm sorry! You just seem so real I keep forgetting!” I apologized.

“And didn't you just have Panera not even an hour ago?”

“It's not what he  _ I  _ wanted.”

“Oh sure, I was going to let you eat McDonalds so that I can operate on you after a heart attack in twenty years.”

“Oh my  _ God _ , you're worse than my brother.” I groaned. “Just hurry up.”

“Alright alright, I'm trying. Try not to forget I have limited access to my memories right now.” He reminded me.

I paused for a few seconds, and then the temptation was too strong. “Forget what?”

Arthur rolled his eyes and threw his head in his hands, groaning. “For God's sake, I swear that if I come back the first thing I'm going to do is slap you.”

I gave him a cheeky grin and a chuckle, despite all the negativity resurfacing. Lukas’s words hit me especially hard. 

_ He might not remember you. _

I shook my head as if to literally clear the thoughts from my head. Happy thoughts, Alfred. Happy thoughts. Listen to the doctor for once. After a few deep breaths, I was good.

I was actually so calm and relaxed that when Arthur suddenly exclaimed,  “Aha!” I nearly swerved into traffic again. “For the last time, Arthur! We talked about this!”

“I'm sorry! I keep forgetting. Make one more joke and I'll truly drive you off the road.” he warned with a sideways glare. “Anyway, I think I know what we can say to him.”

“What is it? Say it fast, I think I see Frank's house up ahead.” I warned. I kept the comment about my five hundred to myself this time. 

“On his wedding night, he slept with his best man.” Arthur said.

“He's married?!” I asked, actually shocked.

“Divorced. His promiscuous nature is the reason. And anyway, that's only something I knew about. I mean, and his best man, but that's besides the point.” he said.

“So, he got freaky with someone else on his own wedding night?” I asked.

Arthur nodded. “They were drunk and slid into a broom closet. Surprisingly, he and his wife stayed married for three more years after that. I'm sure she knew of the affairs he was having, but just couldn't bring it up until then.”

“Wait,  _ you _ weren't-”

“Bloody hell, no! His best man was a friend from preschool. I had the unfortunate pleasure of finding them in the broom closet when I went to go study for my doctoral.” he said, then shuddered at the afterthought. “I failed my test the first time because I couldn't stop thinking about what I saw.”

“Gross.” I shivered as we pulled into a parking spot a little bit away from Francis’s house.

“Indeed. Now how do you plan on getting in to talk to him? He knows you, but I doubt he'd just let you in.” Arthur pointed out.

I sighed and leaned back, thinking very hard. There had to be a way. I couldn't just knock and say hey boy let me in! I had to get in without him knowing my true intentions.

Then, when I noticed someone walk past me, I got a great idea and leapt from my car towards them, leaving Arthur in the dark.

“Hey, little girl, wait up!” I yelled at a girl scout who happened to pass us. She turned around and her eyes widened, clearly ready to run. “No, don't run, I'm sorry to scare you. My names Alfred. I just wanna buy your cookies, please. I love girl scout cookies.” I explained.

She nervously approached me with her wagon. “Thanks. Now, how many thin mints you got? Ah, whatever, I'm taking them all. How much are they anyway.” 

Clearly too freaked out to answer but too desperate to sell these cookies, she held up a three with her hand. “What? Really? Jeez, whatever. I need these. You guys don't happen to take cards do you?” she shook her head. I rolled my eyes and groaned. “What about checks?” she nodded. I did a quick count of the boxes and some math in my head, and whipped out my checkbook to write her an outrageously high check for some stupid cookies and thin mints. “There, now give me a second to toss them in my car.”

After dumping the stash, she whispered a quiet thank you and ran off, her now weightless wagon squealing in delight. I began rummaging through them while Arthur, who had surprisingly stayed in his seat, turned to glare at me. “Really, Alfred? Did you need to buy fifty boxes of girl scout cookies?”

“First off,  _ yes _ , and second off, we need these to get into Francis’s house.” I explained, scooping up an armful.

Arthur got out of the car and began following me to Francis’s door. “How, exactly?”

“Just trust me. Have I ever let you down before?” I asked as we walked up the steps. 

I happened to turn and see Frank sitting on his porch. When he noticed me, I winked at him. He went pale and ran inside. It better have been to grab his checkbook. I needed money.

We finally got to Francis’s door, and after a deep breath, I knocked. It took a few seconds, but I finally heard footsteps coming towards the door. When the door opened, however, I was not expecting to see Peter behind it. “Peter?” I questioned, in actual confusion.

Peter stared hard at me, then turned towards the inside of the house. “Uncle Francis!” he yelled. “There's guests!”

I raised an eyebrow when he said guests but chose to ignore it as I heard irritable grunting from inside, less surprised to see Francis stomp towards the door. “Peter, I said I- Alfred?” He questioned when he finally noticed me.

“Oh, Francis? I didn't know you lived here!” I said in mock surprise. Now this is what I expected to happen. I had expected Francis to open the door so I could start off my rouse the right way.

“Um, what are you doing here?” He asked, pulling Peter close to him protectively. I understood his concern; I just kept popping up everywhere, and no one seemed to have any idea how Arthur knew me. If I could keep up that guise for a little longer, I might have a shot at saving Arthur. The first spark of hope popped up in a while.

I hesitated, having momentarily spaced out, then remembered my plan. I held out my arms full of girl scout cookies. “My sisters are selling girl scout cookies, and I'm helping them go around and sell them. The prize is a new bike, and they both really wants it.” I said. “My mom and dad are with them just a couple of streets down. I guess I'm just seeing you everywhere, huh? What a weird coincidence.” I rambled on, hoping Francis lost interest halfway through like I did.

He blinked, then slowly moved away from Peter, pushing him inside. “Sure, I'll buy a few. I'm not Peter’s father, so I'm allowed to spoil him.” he said. “Come on in and sit down, I'll find my checkbook. Got any samanos?”

I smirked at Arthur, who rolled his eyes, as we walked into Francis’s home. It reminded me of my own home, with pictures hanging everywhere. There was a warm air and a sweet smell, as if bread were always being baked. The furniture was all old and corduroy, which made it really feel like my house back in Pennsylvania. I almost felt like I could navigate through it and find everything just fine despite this being my first time inside. All older homes are basically the same, I promise. 

I set the cookies on the counter so I wouldn't have to hold them, and as I did, I felt a tug on my pants. I looked down to see Peter looking up at me with big eyes. “Drink tea with me?” He pleaded.

I gave a nervous glance to Francis, who sighed, looking back down at his checkbook. “Peter, that is-”

“Ah, no, it's fine. Sure.” I said as he happily led me to a tiny table in the corner of the room. He told me to sit down, but when I did, my knees hit my chest. I felt like I was sitting on the floor. For him, however, it looked to be a comfortable height. Arthur sat down next to me in a small chair across from a stuffed bear in amusement, though he seemed to be having less discomfort. I hated short people.

Peter grabbed a teapot in the middle of the table and began pouring into his own glass first. I was a little surprised and disappointed to see water flow out of the spout, but I didn't let it show. Next, he poured the fake tea into my glass. I nodded as a thank you. I was shocked when I saw him pour water into Arthur's cup, but when he poured water into the teddy bear’s cup, I brushed it aside. Of course he didn't see him; kids always have imaginary friends.

Francis came over and handed me a check, that of which I left on the table as I had no intention of actually taking, then smiled in amusement. “Ah, Peter, is that tea for me?” He asked.

Peter shook his head furiously,  making Francis pout. “Can Uncle Francis at least sit there?” He asked? Again, Peter shook his head. “Aww, why not? Don't you like Uncle Francis anymore? My heart!”

“Reserved!” he shouted as if that cleared anything up, then ran towards the kitchen, pausing for a moment to look back at Francis. “Can I have a snack and watch TV?” He asked. I was slightly offended at how fast he lost interest in me.

Francis nodded. “Have whatever you would like, but if it needs cut, tell me.” he said.

Peter nodded and grabbed an entire box of thin mints, then ran into the living room. Francis sighed. “Berwald is going to kill me for this, I'm sure.” he said.

“How are he and Tino holding up, anyway?” I asked, hoping this didn't seem like prying. Francis, however, brushed it off as a simple question. 

“A lot better than when you last saw them. And by the way, Alfred, you don't have to keep sitting at the small table. Peter lost interest.” he said with an amused look. I immediately shot up, knocking the chair over.

“Right, sorry, my bad.” I apologized. Arthur dared to snort at me. “Anyway, I was wondering, are you guys still gonna… you know? You don't have to answer, I'm just an idiot who's genuinely curious.” I quickly explained. 

Francis’s amused look turned sour. “Yes, we still are. I don't know about Tino and Berwald, but my mind is made. I have very specific reasons for it, Alfred.”

“Why, though?” I asked desperately. “What if there's still a chance?”

Francis slammed his hands on the counter, making my heart jump. “Because I'm the one who got him like this, Alfred!” he yelled. “And now, it's me who has to finish him!”

That was a turn I did not expect. Even Arthur gasped. “You… huh?”

My mind was churning. “But I thought it was clear that Ivan killed me?” Arthur whispered.

“On the night he got in the crash, I told him to loosen up and go out on a date. He hadn't dated since he started working at the hospital, and he was starting to get older. I didn't want him to end up like me, so I pushed him. Even after hearing him say he ended up staying way late at the hospital, I told him to still go, that his date might still be waiting for him. He was exhausted, but still went. He probably fell asleep while driving, and that's why he crashed. Okay? So, there you have it. You now know the truth. Are you satisfied?” He hissed.

It took me several moments to process his story. Then, after filling it the bits I knew with the bits he told me, I felt like laughing and crying. All this time, for almost four months, Francis blamed himself. He had the crushing guilt of killing one of his best friends, and he wasn't even the killer.

After a moment of consideration, I sighed. “Look, Francis, there's something I need to tell you.”

Arthur's eyes widened. “Alfred, don't you dare. Not now.”

“Shh!” I hissed, making a bewildered look grow on Francis’s face. “Listen, you didn't actually kill Arthur. I know this because a few days ago he randomly appeared by my side and has not left me alone since. He's actually standing right here with us right now. We didn't come here to sell you girl scout cookies, my sisters are much older than I am, but you can keep them if you want. I paid for them and everything. Off topic, my bad. Anyway, we're fighting very hard to save him, so if you would please just hear us out-”

I didn't realize Francis was backing towards his knives until he gripped one and whipped it out, aiming it at me. “I knew you don't actually know him! You're probably just some crazy person who is after his money! Trying to make me think you want to save him, then scam us! You're probably one of those criminals I showed Peter to stay away from, that's why I know you! Get out!” he screamed.

I backed up so quickly I slammed into the child's table, knocking it and the chairs over. “Dude, no, I swear, I, um…” I seriously had to think fast. Then I remembered what Arthur had told me earlier. “I know you slept with your best man on your wedding night! That's the reason Arthur failed his first doctoral exam!” I yelled.

The knife wavered, then came swinging back at full force. “No one was supposed to know about that!” he screamed. I finally panicked and dashes out the door, actually afraid for my life.

“Great job, dumbass.” Arthur said as we got back in my car.

“Shut up.” I panted, slamming my head on the steering wheel, not even caring that it triggered the horn.

“So what's our next move?” Arthur asked tauntingly.

Without looking up, though I did lift my forehead off the horn, I sighed. “Please insanity and hope I don't drop the soap at prison?”

Arthur snorted. “Come on, don't look so down. It was worth a shot, honestly. And anyway, it's almost five o'clock. I feel like this would segway into a good transition.” he said.

I gave him a sideways glance. “What are you going on about?”

***

Francis sighed as he replaced the knife, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. Then, feeling it to be necessary, he walked back to Peter, who was watching cartoons on the couch, seemingly unfazed. 

He placed his hand on Peter's blonde head and ruffled his hair. “You okay?”

Peter glanced up at Francis with a chocolate ring around his mouth, apparently not even noticing the huge scene that just happened. “Are Uncle Arthur and his friend staying to play with me?” He said.

Francis blinked. “What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FRANCIS NO MY BABY SO MUCH GUILT  
> but at least the speaker from the first chapter is finally revealed! I've actually been waiting to write this one since I started the story, which is probably why it came out so quickly. I'm not even sure how to approach the next chapter, however, because I don't know how to make Matthew mad at Alfred for that long.
> 
> Also girl scout cookies are probably not that cheap but hey it's NY anything is possible yo. And thin mints are the best hands down fight me. 
> 
> And also, thanks for all the amazing and sweet comments! I know I say this all the time, but I really do squeal with joy when I see in my email "___ commented on Just Like Heaven!"
> 
> We're also approaching the grand finale... who's excited?
> 
> Italktoomuchbye


	9. IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to apologize for all the mood swinginess you'll read about, I just suck in general.

“God damn am I tired.” I groaned as I stretched my shoulders on my way back to my apartment. Somehow, we had managed to survive without any extra holes pierced through us - or I guess I should say me because I’m the only one who actually can get stabbed - and with the majority of our girl scout cookies still safe in my arms. Well, as many as could fit. Mostly the thin mints. The only bad thing about today is that we would probably no longer have access to the hospital and anyone who saw me would probably think I was a psycho freak, including the girl scout troop.

“Well, you did almost join me over on this side. That would have been a nightmare.” Arthur scoffed while I rolled my eyes. I went to make a sarcastic comment back when I felt arms wrap around me from behind. I actually think I saw Jesus, because my heart completely stopped for a solid thirty seconds due to the fact that not only was I not expecting it, but I also thought it was Arthur.

“Who the fu-” I snapped, turning around. Only, when I did, I saw my own face staring back at me. I was confused for half a second until I realized that it was in fact not myself but my twin brother holding me. “Matt! What the actual fuck? I damn near had a heart attack!”

“I’m sorry!” He apologized with no genuity. “But, after Gil told me that you had a psychotic break and left your apartment-”

“First off, I did not have a psychotic break!” I lied. “I was just, a little edgy, you know? Because  _ a certain somebody _ has been calling me nonstop all day, among other things in my life.”

“Because I care. If you just would have answered your phone-”

“And second off, how much stuff about me do you make him keep track of? Did he tell you every time I blinked?” I asked, shaking my brother off of me and turning around to face him. “I mean, for God’s sake, Mattie, I’m as old as you are! I don’t need you to be my baby sitter.” 

He gave me a deadpan look as he glanced down at the abundance of girl scout cookies in my arms. “Right. You’re an adult. You can make your own decisions, such as buying forty boxes of thin mints.”

“Yes I can!” I huffed proudly, pulling my cookies closer to me. “Matt, for real though, I don’t wanna keep fighting with you like this. You just need to realize that I am a strange man who lives a strange life.” I insisted, trying to reason with him. I really hated fighting with my brother, he was probably the person I was closest with in the entire world.

“Al, I unfortunately shared every second of my life with you until we graduated high school. I know this. Sue your older brother for worrying about you.” He rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in surrender, brushing past me.

My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I turned to follow him. “For the last time, we are  _ twins _ . Just because mom squirted you out before me does not mean you’re older.” I argued with him.

“Fourteen whole minutes older. I will play this card until I die.” Matthew insisted with a smart ass grin as he opened the door to the apartment complex. 

“Those fourteen minutes mean nothing! They don’t count!” I demanded.

“You’re just mad because mom couldn’t get your huge ass head out of her for fourteen whole minutes.”

“Uhg, shut up.” I groaned as I kneed the elevator button, allowing it to open for us. Arthur, who had been idly watching this entire time, was dying of laughter at our banter. I shot a quick glare to him while Matthew was pressing the floor number. 

“I’m not sorry, Alfred. You two fight like an old married couple.” He informed me, pausing for a moment before bursting out laughing again. I got the pleasure of listening to Arthur laugh at me while Matthew got to listen to soothing elevator music. The world isn’t fair. 

I made my brother unlock the door for me as my arms were full, and when stepped inside, I was not expecting to see what I did. Elizabeta was sitting at the counter in my kitchen, pushing a wine glass away with her finger while Gilbert leaned in close to her, swishing a wine glass in his own hand while clearly trying and failing to flirt with her. I stood with raised eyebrows in the doorway while Matthew slapped his palm to his face, unfazed by his boyfriend hitting on other people. “Ahem!” Matthew said as he cleared his throat. 

The two looked back at us. Elizabeta seemed relieved for an excuse to escape Gilbert, while Gilbert seemed disappointed to have her escape. Elizabeta dashed over to me while I dumped my horde on the table. “Oh thank God you’re here, Alfred. Listen, my shower broke, can I use yours? Pretty please? I don’t take long, I promise.” She said, standing uncomfortably close to me. Today, rather than wearing work attire or workout attire, she was dressed in a simple camisole and shorts. I also happened to notice that she was in fact not wearing a bra, but that didn’t seem too relevant right this second. 

“Um, y-yeah, sure. Right down the hall, last door on your left. Ignore the Star Wars shampoo and body wash. It’s not mine, I’m uh, watching it for a friend.” I stammered out like a complete dumbass. 

Elizabeta giggled, however, and hugged me. This time, I  _ really _ noticed that she wasn’t wearing a bra. “It’s okay, I won’t even look. Thank you!” She said as she bounded down the hall. Matthew and Gilbert stared at me as I cleared my throat nervously. Arthur was only more amused by the second at my continued idiocy. 

“So.” Gilbert said, breaking the awkward silence. “Is this who you were hiding earlier? How dare you hide such a babe from me, Alfred?” he chided.

Matthew rolled his eyes. “Please. You couldn’t turn on a light, let alone a person. Shut up.” He said, making Gilbert pout and storm away. “But seriously, are you two-”

“No!” I said definitively. “She is just my neighbor. Nothing more, nothing less. I helped her jumpstart her car once, if that helps. We’ve actually only known each other for like, three days. Maybe two. I don’t know, this week feels like it’s been at least sixty six pages long so far. I don’t know anything anymore.”

“What?”

“...What?”

Before anything else could be said, the lights started flickering. We turned around to see Gilbert furiously flicking the light switch on and off with an angry look on his face. “See, Matthew?! I can turn on a damn light!” He insisted. 

“Gilbert Fritz Beilschmidt, cut that out right now!” Matthew scolded. Gilbert left the lights off and stomped to the couch where he sat down and crossed his arms. Matthew sighed. “Are you twenty six or six?”

Just then, Elizabeta came waltzing back into the living room with only a towel wrapped around her very tightly to cover her. The towel was almost too short, but it was long enough to cover what it needed to. “I’m sorry, Alfred. I can’t figure out how to turn it on, can you help me?” 

After snickering at her phrasing after what had just happened, Gilbert offered to help her turn it on. Even though Matthew was more than willing to yell at his boyfriend,  Elizabeta’s glare was more than enough. “Y-yeah, sure. It's pretty hard.”

I thought Gilbert was going to die of laughter. Even Matthew and Arthur smirked at me. I shot them a glare with my red face and followed Elizabeta. I tried to focus on anything but Elizabeta as she walked down the hall with a bounce in her step. 

She opened the door and held it open so I could walk past her. Her clothes were neatly folded on the sink. I walked towards the shower and opened the curtain, reaching for the handle. “What you have to do is pull the handle down,” I demonstrated, pulling it down with a little more force than necessary. “Then twist it left for hot water.” 

Elizabeta leaned in close to me, making me swallow. “Mhm, okay. I thought you just twisted it. Thank you!” she said with a kiss to the cheek. 

I went to run out quickly, but when I did, I noticed she had dropped her towel just as I was going through the door. Damn hormones. 

I walked out while taking deep breaths only to find my brother and his idiot making out on my couch while Arthur was sarcastically gagging in disgust. I grabbed a spray bottle full of water for the plants and squirted them. “No making out on the couch. I don't want to have to burn this couch, I actually like it.” I yelled.

Gilbert rolled his eyes and pushed Matthew away, looking annoyed. “What, you can make out with your little girlfriend but I can’t make out with my boyfriend?”

“Shut up. I don't even like her.” I muttered. 

I wasn't lying to them. I don’t know what it was, but I just felt nothing romantically towards her. I felt like we could be friends, but I just couldn’t see us as  _ lovers _ . 

“Tell me you wouldn’t tap that if given the chance.” Gilbert said while rubbing water off of his face. “I know that look, Alfred. There’s somebody you life. If it’s not her, then it’s someone else.”

I rolled my eyes and set the bottle down, opening the fridge and grabbing a water bottle. “Shut up. Aren’t you guys supposed to talk me out of a depressive episode?”

Matthew sighed and jumped over the back of the couch to put his hands on my shoulders and stare deep into my eyes. I caught my reflection in his eyes and sighed a little. “Alfred, look. I think you're old enough to know what works for you and what doesn't work. I just wanted to make sure what you were doing wasn't sending you down the same path it did a couple months ago.” Then, he turned to Gilbert. “Go start the car.”

Gilbert pouted like a sad puppy. “But I-”

“Car. Now.”

Gilbert sighed and grabbed his coat, giving us one last glance before making his way out of the apartment. Matthew turned back to me. “You know you can tell me anything, right? Like, if you start drinking again or if you want to kill yourself. Nothing is off limits.”

“You know I don't wear my heart on my sleeve.” I signed. “It takes time, Matthew. Just the other day you told me you thought I was looking so much better. What changed?”

“You did.” he explained. “You changed so much in the course of just a few days I got worried. I love you, Alfred, and I don't want to lose you. Not again.”

I pursed my lips. “You never lost me, Matthew. I'm still the same idiot you grew up with.” I told him.

“You didn't see yourself plummet. You didn't have to watch someone who used to be so happy and carefree, someone so proud, fall to their knees in despair. You didn't have to walk past someone who usually smelled like old spice and smell the rotten stench of liquor. You didn't walk in on the person who saved your life to find he was taking his own. I know I'm worrying unnecessarily, but you didn't see your other half,  _ literally _ , almost disappear. I finally got you back. I'm not losing you.” Matthew explained to me. 

I turned away from Matthew with a deep exhale from my nose. My arms moved in wild gestures as I tried to figure out how to phrase what I wanted to say. Then, I spun back to him and sagged my shoulders. “I might not have watched it happen, but I did experience it all first hand. I know how out of control I got. I know I scared you and mom and dad and Amelia and Maddie. But you want to know who I scared the most? Myself.” I sort of wandered the room while Matthew let me explore my mind. I noticed that Arthur wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and I figured he disappeared to give me some privacy. “I’m thinking of selling the apartment-”

“You’re selling the apartment!?” Matthew asked me, his emotions doing a complete 180. “Where the hell are you going to live, Alfred? You have a job to worry about. You can’t just rush into these things!”

I spun around on my heels. “What the actual hell, Matthew? Are you supporting me or against me? You’re acting like I’m looking at the best parts of my life and going ‘Well, don’t need  _ these _ anymore!’ Believe it or not, some actual thought goes into my life. Two seconds ago you said you were worried about me. Now you’re saying this shit?”

“I  _ am _ worried about you, which is why I can’t believe you want to sell your apartment. Seriously, you were weird the other day, but at least your life was still together. I don’t know what happened, but I’m not going to sit around and watch you throw your life away.” Matthew insisted, crossing his arms.

I was fuming. Was he PMSing or something? One second he said he’s worried about me and then the next he’s telling me I’m throwing my life away. Rather than creating an even worse scene, I took a deep breath, calming myself. “Then go. I’m trying to figure a lot of things out right now, and I need people who are truly with me right now.”

I’m not sure exactly what Matthew was feeling then. I saw rage, grief, anger, and sadness all flash in his eyes. Then, without a word, he picked up his coat and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door.

I exhaled the breath I didn’t know I was holding and collapsed into the couch. Right now, a drink seemed like a really good idea, but I had promised myself that I wouldn’t drink anymore. Well, what did it matter anymore anyways? I almost stood up to get a drink from my secret bottle in the cabinet when I heard the bathroom door creak open. Elizabeta walked out with slightly damp hair in her shorts and camisole and looked around, surprised to see the room empty.

“Where did everyone go? I didn’t take that long, did I?” She asked. I shook my head, standing up from the couch. 

“Nah, Matt and that pervert just had to go home. They said it’s getting kind of late.” I told her with a quick glance to my watch. It was only around six, but I felt like it was so much later.

Elizabeta hummed, then brushed her hair over her shoulder and sauntered towards me. “Anyway, thank you for letting me use your shower! It was so nice, and I even appreciated the soap that you’re holding for a friend.” She giggled. 

I let out a breathy laugh. “My shower’s always open to you. I mean, until you get yours fixed. I mean, I- I’m just going to stop talking.” I sighed.

She giggled again and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “And mine will always be open to you.” She whispered, then turned and exited my apartment. It took me a minute to process, but when I did, my face grew hot.

After that, things got kind of boring. Arthur still hadn’t reappeared, so I got on my computer to work more in depth on the project. I wasn’t surprised with the bombardment of comments on how basic it was so far, so I quickly fixed it up to make it better. After that, I made myself some food, then watched TV. It was kind of boring after all the excitement I’d had the past few days. It was definitely welcome, but it just felt so empty without Arthur here. I really hoped that when Arthur woke up, we could still be friends.

Around eleven, I decided to go to bed, not that I had anything better to do tonight anyway. I changed into pajama pants and a t-shirt, then plopped onto my bed, appreciating the warmth on the cold October night. I fell asleep quickly and dreamlessly, and didn’t wake up until I heard my name being whispered. 

My eyes slowly opened, and I saw Arthur laying in the bed next to me. He was about half a foot away from my face, and he looked really worried. 

“Artie? What’s up?” I asked in a tired voice. I glanced over at my clock to see the red numbers read 3:47. 

Arthur breathed in, then exhaled shakily. “I really just need to lay next to you. You can go back to sleep after this, but I just wanted to really feel like I was here with you, not just watching another person.” Then, he swallowed. “I don’t want to die.” He said with a voice crack.

I put my hands out in front of me as if to prevent him from coming any closer, but I gestured my head towards them. He hesitated, but then pressed his own hands against mine. Well, as close as they could get without going through my hands. It was as if we were touching each other, and for some reason, that made a wave of warmth wash over me. I even felt like I could feel his body heat where our hands touched. 

I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open, so I scooted closer while keeping my hands out. “Are you going to tell me what happened?” I asked groggily.

I couldn’t see it with my eyes closed, but I was sure Arthur smiled. “I’ll tell you when you wake up.”

I feel like he whispered something else to me, but I couldn’t make out what it was as I was already falling asleep. It almost sounded like ‘I love you.’

 

When I woke up the next morning, I did not expect to hear Arthur say what he did. He was fidgeting like crazy, and when I finally had asked him what was wrong, I really wished I hadn’t. I mean, I’m glad I did ask him, because I needed to know, but I wished it wasn’t true.

“Yesterday, while you were fighting with your brother, I think I returned to my body for a little bit. I heard Ivan and Francis talking, and they decided to move my execution up to today at noon - in three hours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's official! The next chapter is the last one in Alfred's point of view! Everything will be revealed in the next chapter! However, it will NOT be the last one! The last one will be in Arthur's point of view, so be looking forward to that! I can't believe it's already almost over. It's supposed to be October in the story, I'm pretty sure specifically October 19th. Wouldn't it be really funny if I purposely waited over 2 weeks to post so the days line up? No? I didn't think so. It will be out ASAP, but it probably will be the longest chapter. Thank you all for keeping up this far.
> 
> Make sure you subscribe to this story or bookmark it so you are still here for the finale! I'd hate to see you miss it!


	10. X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The deadline arrives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "oh no im not gonna torture u guys and make you wait" why do you guys even listen to me anymore lmao. I got really into Voltron and I might start watching Miraculous Ladybug again because of the new season. So many distractions lmao. also my job is literally killing me but hey whatever hahaha
> 
> also warning in advance I'm sorry if this seems rushed im just really tired right now its almost 2 am but i really wanted to get this done.

“I'm getting terrible flashbacks to my own car crash, Alfred!” Arthur screeched from the passenger seat. 

“Just pretend you're watching me play Grand Theft Auto, then it's not as scary!” I insisted as my foot slammed on the break as I avoided a car in the next lane. 

“Grand Theft what?” He cried as I rounded a corner at 70 mph.

“Ugh, nevermind! It's almost noon! We don't have time to waste on silly things like traffic!” I told him as I dodged an oncoming car. 

Arthur was looking around, then got confused as we took a new turn down a street. “I'm not trying to tell you what to do but the hospital is the other way.”

“I realize that - whoops, sign! - But we have to take a detour!” I shouted at him, speeding out of town and into a more suburban area of New York.

“What could possibly be more important than my life right now?” Arthur demanded. “If you're stopping to get McDonald's-”

“God, no! Sheesh, I'm getting someone to help us.” I explained, stopping abruptly in front of a house. I didn't even bother to get out of the car, I just whipped out my phone and dialed a number. Within two rings, there was an answer. 

“ _ Alfred, what's wrong? _ ” Gilbert asked through the phone.

“Dude, I don't have time to explain now, but I need you to get in my car. I'll explain on the way there.” I told him.

“ _ What if I'm busy? _ ” He asked, though I heard him shuffling around.

“What could you possibly be doing on a Thursday morning?” I asked him.

He paused, then quietly he answered, “ _ New season of Voltron came out last week. I'm trying to catch up _ .” he confessed.

“Dude!” I yelled. “This is more important that freaking cartoons!” 

“ _ I'm worried about Keith, okay? Sue me. _ ” he said as he walked out the door, hanging up the phone. I rolled my eyes and honked for him to hurry up.

“Artie, do you mind getting in the back so I don't have to explain why he can't sit in the front?” I asked Arthur.

“First off, my name is Arthur.” he insisted, though he crawled to the back. “Wow, I wish there was room back here with all the cookies.”

“Shut up, you're a ghost.” I hissed right before Gilbert got in the car. 

“So dude, what's wrong?” Gilbert asked, but the question was quickly discarded when I suddenly sped through a U turn to start going back to the hospital. “Dude, slow down! What's going on?”

“Tell him you're picking up some stuff the hospital is throwing out for a friend and you need him to help you move it.” Arthur supplied.

“The uh, hospital is getting rid of some stuff and a co-worker asked me to pick it up for them, need you to help me move it.” I explained poorly.

Thankfully, Gilbert bought it. “Whatever dude. But do you need to go this fast?” He asked.

I let out a breath through closed lips. “Yes. You won’t understand until we get there.” I explained to him.

He stared at me, but I tried to pretend that I was focusing on the road. Then, he placed a hand on my arm, gripping it with some force. “Al, seriously, you’re scaring me.”

I glanced at him quickly before avoiding a parked car. “Please, please trust me. You'll understand everything when we get there.”

“Seriously, shouldn't you wait for your brother?” Gilbert asked.

“There's no time!” I snapped. Then, I sighed again, rolling my shoulders. “And anyway, Matt isn't pleased with me right now. He won't help, he wouldn't anyway. You're the only person I know stupid enough to help me.”

Gilbert almost seemed proud for a minute, but when he realized what I said, he narrowed his eyes in disgust. “Maybe I won't help you now!”

“I'll give you fifty bucks.” I offered as we got closer to the hospital. Gilbert sucked in a deep breath, looking as if he was weighing the pros and cons in his head. If Matthew had been there, he would have probably smacked his boyfriend for even considering it. 

“Well, I do like a quick buck. Or fifty.” he said with a sly smile. I rolled my eyes at him, almost wishing my brother was there to insult him. “As long as it’s nothing illegal.”

I stiffened a little bit, trying my best to keep a poker face. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but what I had in mind was more than likely not legal. However, trying not to let either Arthur or Gilbert know how worried I was, I let out a small laugh. “The only illegal thing I ever plan on having done is being an alcoholic. Trust me, we’re going to be fine.”

“I highly doubt anything you have planned could be legal.” Arthur muttered as if reading my thoughts. I shot him a glare through the rearview mirror and continued speeding down the street, thankful that there seemed to be no cops at the time. Probably too busy sucking down donuts and coffee.

When we pulled into the hospital parking lot, Gilbert seemed less and less sure. “Dude, I’m getting a seriously bad vibe. You’re not telling me the truth, are you?” He asked me as we got out of the car.

I sighed, tired of the worry. “Dude, I’m dead serious. We gotta pick something up from the hospital. Would I ever lie to you?” I asked him, resting a hand on his shoulder as we dashed into the hospital.

“You lied to me when you told me that Harry dies in the third book and the rest of the series is them trying to revive him.”

“Okay, that was fucking hilarious. You actually fell for that.” I snorted as we entered the lobby briskly. I looked around for any guards, thankful that I didn’t see them. However, I did see the annoying receptionist, and she unfortunately saw me and gestured me over. I contemplated it, not wanting to waste time, but I begrudgingly walked over to her, leaning on the counter casually. “What’s up?”

She glanced around, then leaning in, urging me to lean in closer. I sighed internally and leaned in closer so she could whisper in my ear. “Dr. Braginsky told me not to let you in anymore, and if I saw you to call the police.” 

She must have noticed that I went cold and stiffened, because she rubbed my hand that I didn’t even realize was exposed. “No no, don’t worry. See, last night, I was stalking you on Facebook, you and your brother are adorable by the way, and I just know that whatever reason you got yourself banned by Dr. B had to be a good reason. You aren’t the kind of guy to hurt anyone on purpose, and I feel like whatever you’re doing has a good intention behind it. I’m not going to stop you. Honestly, Dr. B and his new assistant Dr. Laryngitis or whatever his name is are really freaking me out right now, so I don’t really trust what they’re saying. If you’re gonna punch someone, punch them.” She explained quickly. 

I blinked. That was a lot of confusing information, especially a doctor named after a type of sickness, but I didn’t have any time to question it. “I don’t even know your name, but thank you so much for all of your help. It seriously means a lot to me.” I told her, leaning down to place a quick kiss on her forehead. I heard her shout it to me, but I didn’t even pay attention to it as I dashed down the hallways, leaving Gilbert utterly confused.

“Alfred-” He started, but I spun on my heel and covered his mouth, shutting him up. 

“Dude,  _ please _ do not shout my name. Better yet, do not shout. Do not talk if it’s going to kill you that bad. Just please, stay quietish.” I insisted. He nodded, and I took my hands off him as we continued down a few hallways. 

Arthur finally told me when to stop, and we ducked into a closet. I grabbed a small cart, and Arthur began instructing me on what to swipe. “You need a blood pressure cuff, a portable ventilator, that yellow thing, and-”

“Alfred, dude, I tried to stay quiet as long as I could.” Gilbert said suddenly, snapping both of us out of our thoughts. I glanced down at my watch. Forty three seconds. Matthew would be proud. “This isn’t a sale, man.”

I paced around, then threw my arms down in defeat. “Look, I knew you wouldn’t come up if I told you the truth.”

“Do I want to know?” Gilbert asked. I sucked in a breath and nodded.

“The reason I’ve been acting so weird is because I have the spirit of a guy upstairs on life support following me around. We need to get his body somewhere safe, he’s going to be taken off life support soon.” I explained.

Gilbert deadpanned. “I’m not sure if you’re just hardcore fucking with me or what.” He said. 

“Alfred, I knew this was a bad idea.” Arthur said with a strained voice.

“I don’t care if it was a bad idea or not, I needed the help.” I hissed, glancing behind Gilbert to talk to Arthur. Then I looked back at a bewildered Gilbert. “He’s the one I was talking to when you stopped by. I swear.”

“And he’s uh, he’s behind me right now?” Gilbert asked, glancing behind him and seeing no one. I nodded. “Then he should know what I’m doing with my hands, right?”

Gilbert stuck his hand behind his back, blocking it from my view. I glanced over at Arthur, who looked at Gilbert’s back.

“Four.”

“Four.” I repeated, making Gilbert’s eyebrows raise.

“He’s making a fist.”

“You’re making a fist.” I said, and now Gilbert’s eyebrows narrowed. 

“He’s holding up his pinky and th - now he’s flipping me off!”

“You’re flipping him the bird?” I asked in disbelief, glaring at Gilbert.

Gilbert sucked in a breath, putting his hands back at his sides. “Alfred, look, let’s take you upstairs to the psyche ward-”

“Damnit, Gilbert! There’s no time! It’s almost 11:30, he’s going to be dead in half an hour if we don’t hurry the fuck up!” I yelled, running my hands through my hair in annoyance. 

Gilbert grabbed my one hand and pulled it out of my hair, tugging me closer to him to look him in the eyes. “Okay, let’s say your plan works out. We manage to sneak a body out of here, or hide him in another room or something. Then what? What do we do from there? Are you going to keep him in your apartment until the ventilator fails? Are you going to kill him on your own terms? Why are you risking everything for this man you apparently have only met as a spirit?” He asked me seriously, gripping my arm tighter. “Are you seriously willing to throw everything away for this? Why?”

I stared at him, panting from the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I hadn’t thought about this in detail, something I probably should have. Various thoughts and emotions swirled through my head like a tornado, ripping away at everything until there was only one thing left. “Love.” I whispered to myself. Then, I glanced at Arthur, knowing that this is what I felt. This man that I had barely met, he reminded me of when I was with Natalia. I loved being around him, and he made me feel things I just couldn’t describe except for this one word. “It’s because I love him. I love you.” I directed towards him.

His face flushed from embarrassment. “You… what?” The two asked in unison, actually kind of freaking me out.

“I love him, okay? I love spending time with him, I love being around him, and I just don’t want to see him go like Natalia did, okay? Please, Gilbert.” I begged, grabbing the hand that was grabbing me. 

He had another internal struggle, then caved once more, letting go of me. “You owe me so much more than fifty now.”

And with that, we were pushing a gurney down the hallway, rushing towards Arthur’s room. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, we pushed the gurney into his room. “Okay, this is him.” I said, rolling the gurney right next to his bed. 

I noticed that Gilbert had stopped moving and was staring at Arthur’s lifeless body. I grew irritated. “Gil, we don’t have time to-”

“Dude, this is the guy I set you up with all those months ago. You stood him up, but it was okay because he…” After connecting pieces of the puzzle, Gilbert gasped, staring at me. “He got in a wreck and that’s why he stood you up! This is Francis’s best friend.  _ Dude. _ ”

Arthur gasped, causing me to stare at him. He covered his mouth with one hand and pointed to Gilbert with the other. “Oh my god, he’s the one who fooled around with Francis on his wedding night! I knew the name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t connect the pieces. He used to have a mohawk and piercings and, just, oh my  _ God _ , I don’t know how I didn’t remember until now..”

“You slept with Francis on his wedding night and had a mohawk?” I asked in disbelief. 

Gilbert’s face got red. “How did you know that? The only people who knew were Francis and… Oh god, Arthur really is here, isn’t he?” he whispered, staring at Arthur’s body. I nodded, and he swallowed. “Okay, what do we have to do?”

Arthur began walking us through the steps of hooking him up, but I felt numb the entire time. I was supposed to have met Arthur almost four months ago. Our meeting was ruined by tragedy, but we were given a chance to fix it. It made me wonder briefly if I was what Arthur needed to wake up, but I dismissed the thought quickly. If I had been, he would have been awake by now. 

I was just hooking him up to the portable ventilator when I heard the door slam open. I flinched as I heard the unwelcome voice of Ivan resonate through the room. “What is going on in here?”

Gilbert shot up and put his arms up as if he were under arrest, but the only people to flood through the door were Ivan, his assistant supposedly named Dr. Laryngitis, Francis, Tino, Berwald, and Peter. Everyone in the room had a look of shock on their face, except Peter, who had no idea what was going on.

“Gilbert?” Francis demanded in disbelief. “What are you doing here with  _ him _ ?”

“Buddy, chill. It’s Matthew’s younger twin brother.” He explained.

“He’s Matthew’s twin? That’s how I know him?” Francis asked, staring harshly at me.

“More importantly,” Ivan asked, silencing the room. “Alfred, what are you doing here? I thought you would get the message that you were no longer wanted here.”

I turned towards him, keeping a grip on the breathing tube connected to Arthur, feeling as if I was holding onto him personally. “What the fuck nonsense are you spewing over there?” I spat as Tino covered Peter’s ears. “I know you did this to him. I don’t know how, but I know you had a part in this. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you were the truck driver that slammed into him.”

“Alfred!” Francis snapped. “Arthur’s death was a very unfortunate accident that no one could prevent or cause. Dr. Braginsky played no part in it.” Hot tears were rolling down Francis’s eyes, and I couldn’t tell if they were from anger or sadness. Probably a mix of both. 

If anyone had started talking in that exact moment, they would have missed what Ivan’s assistant had said. Thankfully, the room was perfectly silent for him to boldly say, “Dr. Braginsky did do it.”

All eyes flew towards him, including the angry and betrayed eyes of Ivan. “Dr. Laurinaitis, please do not continue speaking.” Ivan hissed out like a snake.

Dr. Laurinaitis, not Laryngitis, narrowed his eyes in determination. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Braginsky. You’re one of the smartest people I know, but I just can’t keep the jig up any longer. It’s not fair to these innocent people who were caught in the crosshairs.”

Ivan made a move towards him, but Berwald was faster. He grabbed Ivan’s arms and twisted them behind him, pinning him to the wall. Ivan clearly tried to struggle his way free, but Berwald was stronger. All of the rest of us just stared at Dr. Laurinaitis, hoping he would explain his outrageous accusation further. 

“It was before I was hired here. I was interning here, desperate to be hired as Dr. Braginsky’s assistant. Dr. Braginsky knew this, and asked me just how far I was willing to go. I told him I would kill for it, although I didn’t realize how literally he took my words. He explained to me that he wanted to end Dr. Kirkland because he killed off his little sister-”

“He  _ what? _ ” three of us gasped out, not even believing what we were hearing.

“Toris, stop talking!” Ivan demanded. Berwald just pressed into him harder, making him grunt out in pain.

Toris nodded, biting his lower lip. “He told me Dr. Kirkland talked her out of chemo treatment for her cancer.”

I didn’t even need to speak for Arthur for this. “Whoa whoa, back up! Natalia decided that on her own! She knew the side effects of chemo, and since her chances weren’t very high either way, she wanted to stay herself until the end. No one talked her out of it. I tried my damn hardest to talk her  _ into _ chemotherapy, and she wouldn’t listen to me!”

“If Dr. Kirkland would have shut up about the statistics to her that one day, she’d still be alive right now, and none of us would be here!” Ivan hissed from his spot on the wall. 

“You know damn well once your sister made up her mind she didn’t change it! Even I had to let her do what she wanted in the end.” I told him. “I told her if her mind was made, I wasn’t going to try and change it.”

“He drugged Dr. Kirkland after his shift. He hadn’t anticipated him staying longer, but that gave him the perfect cover to continue. He set up the truck, too. Dr. Kirkland was supposed to die, not fall into a coma. And then, his family was supposed to pull the plug like all good families do, obeying the wishes of the soon-to-be deceased. However, his family stubbornly persisted, leading us to where we are now.” Toris blurted out before anything else could happen. 

Tino was sobbing uncontrollably, holding Peter close to him as he did. Francis was wiping his own tears from his eyes, though trying to keep himself together much more than Tino was. Gilbert just seemed confused, and Ivan was completely outraged. However, he took a deep breath before speaking. “I now see my anger was misdirected.” He said softly.

I almost thought Ivan realized he was a monster, but he somehow escaped Berwald’s grip, turning towards me. “It was you who killed my sister!” He yelled, running towards me with a fist. 

I immediately put my arms up to protect my face, feeling his fist collide unnecessarily hard with hy forearm. Berwald secured him again before he could do anymore damage. Tino screamed, and Francis ran to the door to call for security. I rubbed my forearm in pain, but instantly froze when I realized there was still a piece of plastic in my hand. I looked down, then looked to Arthur and saw that he was missing his breathing tube. “No…” I whispered in disbelief. 

After hearing the machine begin to beep slower, everyone turned towards Arthur, and there was a collective gasp as they noticed the breathing tube which had been ripped from him.

Arthur, who had been standing at the foot of his bed hearing about how the accident wasn’t his fault, seemed the most shocked. He stared at himself, then back at me with huge eyes. “Alfred, I…”

“No! You’re going to live, damn it! I didn’t spend this entire week trying to help you out for no reason!” I insisted, tossing the tube aside. I tried doing CPR or something, but I knew deep down that it was futile.

“He really can see Arthur.” Francis whispered, sounding completely ruined. 

“Alfred! It’s pointless! I’m disappearing!” He cried, looking at his hands. It was true; his body began to become transparent. I could see the picture of him and Peter through him now. 

A fist had wrapped itself around my heart and squeezed as hard as possible. In the course of a few days, I had learned to love again, and it was being taken away from me again. I was so close. I spent so much time, sacrificed so much, and now it was all for nothing. I couldn’t live with that. I had to do something, fast. So, I did the only thing I could do right then.

I leaned down, pressing my lips into Arthur’s, kissing him hard. I felt something click inside of me. This is what I needed. I felt freed. This was the first time I could kiss Arthur, and damn, did it feel good.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Arthur touch his lips. He could feel my lips on his. We got a kiss that we could both feel. It almost seemed fitting that that was the last thing we would do together. Right at that moment, Arthur finally disappeared, and the sound of flatlining resonated throughout the room. 

Arthur was gone.

Tino lost it completely, throwing himself into Berwald as the guards came in and took Ivan and Toris away. Francis collapsed next to Arthur, grabbing his hand and sobbing into it. Peter looked around, clearly confused as to what was happening. Gilbert looked away from Arthur’s body, biting his lip and clearly trying not to cry.

I finally pulled away from Arthur’s lips, staring at his face in disbelief. He was gone. I was never going to be able to talk to him again. 

That’s what I thought, until I heard a beeping echo in the room full of sobbing.

We all shut up and looked up at the machine, seeing a pulse beep on the screen. Francis grabbed Arthur’s wrist, feeling for a pulse. The look of utter shock kept growing on his face. “He’s got a pulse!”

By some twist of fate, Arthur coughed gently, then opened his eyes. He looked around, and looked like he was trying to mumble something. It came out as barely a whisper, however. Despite that, everyone rushed over to him, eager to see him alive again. “Arthur, oh my god, you’re alive!” Francis cried.

“What… happened?” Arthur asked quietly, looking around at all the faces staring at him.

“You were in a horrible car wreck. Alfred saved you. Do you remember any of it?” He asked him, squeezing his hand. 

Arthur looked over at me, squinting his eyes as if trying to search for something. Finally, he gave up and pursed his lips. “Who?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY HEART IS BREAKING I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST WROTE THIS. This is exactly how I saw it happening, and I've been waiting to write this for a while. However, the NEXT AND LAST CHAPTER, TOLD IN ARTHUR'S POV, is the one I'm most excited for. I have a list of notes of what i want to include based on suggestions you guys gave me. 
> 
> I can't believe this is almost over, I feel like just yesterday I started writing this in my study halls. I originally wanted to do something where Arthur left his status as a country and traveled to an alternate reality and had to live as a human, but after watching the movie Just Like Heaven, I knew this is what I really wanted to do. I also started writing this at a really dark time in my life, and it helped me escape from all that pain I was going through. I'm just so glad you guys all seem to like it so much. It truly means a lot to me when you guys respond so positively, and I always try to respond ASAP.
> 
> Please, leave me comments on what you think might happen or how you feel about what happened. I personally feel like it was rushed and kind of a let-down, but my middle name is also pessimistic. I don't feel bad for what's contained inside (ok maybe a little bit) but i just feel like I could have done better. I promise you, though, the last chapter will be filled to the brim with love and fluff and gayness that will sate you all. ;)


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And once more, there is peace with the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BEFORE WE START THIS CHAPTER, I JUST WANT TO GIVE A HUGE SHOUTOUT TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HELPED ENCOURAGE ME TO FINISH THIS. THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE LOVE AND SUPPORT OF YOU GUYS!!! 
> 
> I wanted to post all of your beautiful comments, but I just had so many that it would have been longer than the chapter (lmao)
> 
> Now, without further adieu, I present to you, the final chapter of Just Like Heaven.

Almost four whole months of my life had been taken away from me in a simple moment of greed. One simple conversation in passing had almost taken my entire world from me. I watched people die every day, but the thought of it happening to me was a real eye opener. 

Dr. Ivan Braginsky, the mastermind behind this wicked plan, plead guilty in court. His sentence was far too short for what he did to me. 

I spent weeks in physical therapy to try and walk again. I had to take special tests to gauge how badly my brain had been damaged. It frustrated me how long it took me to finally pass a test which proved I was fully functional.

It also frustrated me how long I had to remain as a dependant. I wasn't able to live on my own for obvious reasons, so I had to stay with Francis for over three months. It wasn't so bad when he cooked for me, but between the dozens of women I saw filter through the doors and his annoying personality, I was going crazy. He was begging me to stay with him longer, but I sooner would have lived in my car. Francis was a dear friend, but he annoyed the hell out of me. 

I received many phone calls from many concerned friends and family, including my parents whom I had not seen in years. I had built a generic response to them, not bothering to actually listen to what all these concerned people had said. I hated feeling pitied, and I would take my pride with me to my grave. 

After all of this, I was finally cleared to go back to work and live on my own. Tino and Francis had both insisted I just move in with them, but I could not stand another moment constantly surrounded by people doting on me. I just wanted to go back to work and be by myself in my free time. 

Today, Francis was helping move back into my apartment. I received many odd looks from my neighbors, including a young woman with long brunette hair who actually looked offended that I came back. I had no idea what her problem was.

Francis balanced a laundry basket full of clothes on his hip as he reached for the door handle. I was about to offer him my key, but he twisted it without paying much attention and it swung open. I thought it was bizarre, but I didn't say anything. They had probably been in and out of my apartment cleaning and carrying my belongings in and neglected to lock it.

“And here we are, Arthur. Your wonderfully plain home where you live wonderfully by yourself without the amazing presence of me.” Francis sighed, placing the clothes on the kitchen counter. 

I rolled my eyes. “Keep talking like that and I'll think you're Gilbert.”

Francis gagged in disgust at the thought. “Like I would ever want to be like that clown. Thank God his fiance cleaned him up dramatically.”

“When is he getting married?” I asked as I set down the box I was carrying.

“They haven't decided yet. Matthew's parents want a wedding in Pennsylvania and Gilbert's want one in Germany. They both just want to stay in New York, though.” Francis explained, reaching into the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

“Sounds rough. Should I avoid the closet this time?” I asked with a smirk.

Francis choked on his water as he was drinking it, causing water to spill all over my floor. He wiped his jaw with a red faced glare. “I thought we agreed never to discuss it again.” he said sternly.

I ignored his anger and hummed innocently, carrying a stack of books out of the box and to my bookshelf. “I must have forgotten. You know, memory issues because of my wreck.”

Francis tightened his jaw and rolled his eyes with an amused look on his face. “Sure, whatever. Anyway, I need to go, I'm going to be late for work. If you need anything, and I mean anything, just call me and I'll leave work in an instant. I'll even come to read you a bedtime story.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. “You just don't want to go to work. I'll be fine, Francis.”

Francis gave me an unsure look but nodded, waving as he ducked out the door. I breathed a sigh of relief and abandoned the boxes full of my possessions to sit down for a minute. It had been a long day.

As I made my way to my bench by the window, I felt that something was off before I saw it. I looked down at it and saw that one of the covers was removed, exposing the contents inside. I stiffened, worried that Francis, Tino, Berwald, or even Peter had rummaged through my personal belongings. I didn't even know how they would have known it was there, I made it seem inconspicuous.

I glanced inside and saw that all the books stacked in there had been rummaged through, and my planner was wide open on a date in June. What disturbed me the most, however, was the small mahogany box that I had kept the key to my roof in was open, and the key was nowhere to be seen. Oh God, had someone broken in while they were moving my stuff in?

I slowly stood up, grabbing the nearest blunt object to me, which happened to be a hardcover copy of Crime and Punishment, and made my way to the hallway where the door was located. To my shock, the door was wide open. Francis had just left and then this happens to me. That  _ would _ just be my luck. 

Slowly, I began heading up the stairs, ready to put the title of the book to good use. I doubted that I, being as small as I was, I could do anything to stop whoever was up there, but I'd be damned if I didn't try.

I finally reached the top of the stairs, slightly winded by my lack of physical exercise for a few months, and pushed the top door open, fully ready to go psycho on whoever was up there. However, when I saw what was behind the door, I felt as if my breath had actually been punched out of me.

The roof of the building had been transformed into what I could only describe as a paradise. It looked like a personal garden, with flowers dancing up the sides of tall enclosures and sitting beautifully in pots. There was a stone sidewalk that spiraled into what I could only guess was a fire pit. Chairs decorated the place, some under the enclosures and some by the edge for a view of the city. There was an empty bookshelf that rested towards the edge of the enclosure, just waiting to be filled with books.

Sunlight radiated down despite the dark storm clouds that loomed in the sky, making everything glow golden, including the man who was standing there with his back turned towards me. He must have heard me suck in a sharp breath when I saw the masterpiece before me, because he turned around. When he saw me, his face looked disappointed.

“Who… are you?” I dared to ask, my voice quiet. 

He signed and pushed up his glasses. His blonde cowlick bobbed when he did, and his blue eyes glimmered with sadness. “It's probably better if you don't know. I didn't think you'd be back this soon, I just really wanted to get this done. Please don't freak out, Artie. I'm leaving now.” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

He brushed right past me, and I felt a shiver run up my spine, though not from fear. “How do you know me? How did you get in my apartment, let alone up to the roof.”

He paused, but didn't turn to face me. “You have a key under the fire extinguisher, and you keep all your extra personal stuff in that bench you pulled out, including the long lost key to the roof. Please, like I said, it's better that you don't know this stuff. And don't tell anyone, I'm not coming back.” he said, then continued to walk away. However, he seemed to remember something, because he paused again and his shoulders bounced with a small laugh. “I'll forget the five hundred dollars, too. Goodbye, Arthur.”

And with that, the strange blonde man was gone, giving me more questions than answers. I felt like I should stop him, make him stay, but I didn't know why I felt that way. He was a stranger who broke into my home, so why did I feel this way?

I didn't have much time to stand there and contemplate, because shortly after he departed, I felt a large raindrop land on my nose. I glanced up and witnessed more fat drops of water plummet around me. Quickly snapping back to my senses, I dashed back towards the door. 

I descended the stairs and went straight to my kitchen to make myself a warm cup of tea to clear my head of that strange man. In due time, I would forget all about him. He would just be another part of my day to forget about. 

As I walked past the counter, I felt my sock snag on something. I glanced down and saw nothing at first. I crouched down and felt at the floor, noticing a small dent in the floor. I narrowed my eyes in confusion, feeling the dent. It almost looked like a mug hit the edge of the floor hard. I wondered if they had dropped one when moving things back to my apartment-

_ “Well?” _

_ Coffee went flying everywhere, and the definite clink of glass shattering resonated throughout as a mug hit the floor. Coffee was all over the counter and spilled all over the floor, along with shards of a mug. _

_ “ _ Fucking Christ _ , dude! Why the hell are you still here?! Aren't you just a figment of my imagination? Oh God, I must have a tumor. Well, that's it, that's the end of Alfred F. Jones.” _

Wait, who was Alfred F. Jones?

Suddenly, as if being hit by a wave, everything came rushing back to me.

_ “So, your name is Arthur, and you used to live here, but now you're like, almost dead, so your soul came back to break my favorite coffee mug and haunt the shit out of me. Am I getting this right so far?” _

_ “Wow, an antisocial jackass. Why does that seem to describe you perfectly?” _

_ “Dude, you're a  _ slut _? What's your persona,  _ hot nurse _?” _

_ “See, Artie? You're still alive. You wouldn't be able to feel that if you were dead. There's still hope.” _

_ “You have too many people depending on you! They clearly betrayed your wish because they cared about you and didn't want you to leave so soon! You're supposed to die when you’re all old and lived your life to the fullest! Not when your life is literally just starting! I’m sorry that I actually care! I'm starting to feel like you don’t!” _

_ “I'm gonna wake you up, Arthur. I promise.” _

“Alfred!” I gasped out, falling to my knees and clutching my chest. How could I forget the man who saved my life? How could I forget the man who fought and sacrificed everything just to save a stranger?

I had to find him.

I sprung up and dashed out the door, not bothering with shoes or a coat. It was late March by now, and there was still some snow on the ground and the rain didn’t help, but I was beyond caring at that point. I had to find Alfred.

I skipped the elevator even though I knew it would be faster in the long run. Despite my 5 month recovery, I was still very out of shape, but so much adrenaline was coursing through my veins that I didn’t even notice my chest constricting. 

Oh God, Alfred must have braved through the cold and snow to build that rooftop garden for me. Alfred stayed, despite the fact that I left. I needed Alfred. I can’t believe I forgot about him for five months. 

I dashed out the doors of the complex and looked around. Of course, Alfred was nowhere to be seen. I made a judgement call and dashed left to try and find him. I bumped into many offended looking people and others who looked bewildered at how I was dressed for the weather. Rain pounded on my skin like nails, and my chest grew tighter, and I felt none of it.

Finally, by pure chance, I saw the golden flash of hair I had been looking for. He was about to enter his car and drive away. I would never see him again.

“ _ Alfred! Alfred F. Jones! _ ” I screamed, trying to run faster to catch up to him. 

I was worried he didn’t hear me, because he made no signs that he had heard me. He pulled open the door of his little red car, then, by pure chance, happened to look up. He glanced back down afterwards, but then when he saw me dashing towards him, his head jerked back up again. I couldn’t hear him, but it looked like he mouthed, “Arthur?”

I finally caught up to him, and he slammed his door shut and went to meet me on the sidewalk. He looked like he wanted to say something, but I didn’t let him speak. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled his face close to mine, pressing my lips onto his. 

I couldn’t see them, because my eyes were closed, but I was sure Alfred’s eyes were open wide with confusion. His hands floated around me, as if he was scared to touch me, but he finally resigned and wrapped his arms around me, deepening the kiss. I inwardly sighed in relief, feeling like a part of me had been set free. 

We stayed like this for several moments, receiving a few claps from some random bystanders, ignoring the cold and the rain. Nothing mattered to us right now besides each other. Alfred’s arms were warm and strong around me, making me just want to melt right into him and stay there forever. 

Reluctantly, he pulled away, then brought his hands to my face, cupping my cheeks and brushing water off of them. “You remember?”

“Oh God, Alfred, I don’t know how I forgot. You saved my life, and I forgot you. Alfred, oh God, Alfred!” I cried, pressing my face into his chest. Then, quieter, I whispered, “Please,  _ please  _ don’t leave me again.”

Alfred gave me a sad smile, and I saw water run down his face that I couldn’t be sure was water from the rain. “If you let me, I’m not going anywhere.” He promised, pressing his lips into mine again.

Being with Alfred now, after all we had been through over those few short days, felt just like heaven.

**_~Fin~_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you hear crying it's just me because this has been my project since I got my life ruined by a teacher at school. I can't believe it's done. And now, I don't know what to do with my life. 
> 
> I literally used to write this for 50 minutes during my study hall and during my breaks at work. Now I don't know if I should start a new series or continue with a few more oneshots. 
> 
> Sigh. I'll figure something out. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this. I had so much fun working on this, and I know all the time I spent on it was worth it. I'll see you in my next work! Bye for now!!


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